Welcome To The Snake Pit!!

[Vipers2k9]

VIPERS GOING ROARING INTO MARCH
SET FIFTH IN CONFERENCE STANDINGS

detroitnews.com - March 1st, 2013 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - The Detroit Vipers took a giant leap in the month of Feburary at securing their first playoff bid in their inaugural season. Detroit came in to the month tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for second overall in the division and now have just a slim one point lead on the Penguins.

The Vipers went a very impressive 7 - 3 - 2 in the month of February where they saw some key injuries happen to the team with the loss of Frans Nielsen for the rest of the season and having to go without Michael Grabner for most of February has reason for the fans to be very excited about clinching a playoff birth. What also has helped has been the deal that brought T.J. Oshie to the team. Oshie arrived with just 7 goals and 12 assists but since joining the team has exploded for 6 goals and 7 assists since joining the team on February 1st.

Detroit sits fifth overall in the conference standings as we head into the real playoff push month of March. Here is a look at the conference playoff standings heading March...

NHL Standings - Updated: Mar 1, 2013
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	OTL	PTS
1. Buffalo Sabers	39	19	3	81
2. New York Rangers	35	18	7	77
3. Carolina Hurricanes	34	22	6	74
4. Florida Panthers	34	21	5	73
5. Detroit Vipers	32	20	8	72
6. Pittsburgh Penguins	33	23	5	71
7. Washington Capitals	33	25	4	70
8. Boston Bruins	31	23	8	70
9. Montreal Canadiens	31	25	6	68
10. Philadelphia Flyers	28	25	9	65
11. Tampa Bay Lightning	30	26	4	64
12. Toronto Maple Leafs	27	24	8	62
13. Winnipeg Jets	26	26	8	60
14. Ottawa Senators	28	30	3	59
15. New Jersey Devils	26	28	7	59

In the Western Conference, The Los Angeles Kings are starting to pull away with the top spot heading into March but the biggest surprise of last month has been the play of the other team located in the state of Michigan, The Detroit Red Wings.

The Red Wings finished the month of February 11 - 1 - 1 and went from last place in the division to being tied for first with Nashville and right now has the number three slot in the conference standings while the Blackhawks are on the outside looking in.

The other shocker is that the Vancouver Canucks may not make the playoffs at all as they sit 13th overall in the standings with just 58 points. Here is a look at the western conference...

NHL Standings - Updated: Mar 1, 2013
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	OTL	PTS
1. Los Angeles Kings	39	17	4	82
2. Calgary Flames	33	21	7	73
3. Detroit Red Wings	35	25	1	71
4. Minnesota Wild	32	22	8	72
5. San Jose Sharks	33	22	5	71
6. Nashville Predators	29	20	13	71
7. Dallas Stars	31	27	3	65
8. Colorado Avalanche	30	26	5	65
9. Chicago Blackhawks	31	29	2	64
10. Columbus BlueJackets	26	24	12	64
11. St. Louis Blues	29	27	6	64
12. Phoenix Coyotes	26	23	11	63
13. Vancouver Canucks	26	31	6	58
14. Anaheim Ducks	28	32	0	56
15. Edmonton Oilers	21	33	8	50

[Vipers2k9]

DETROIT VIPERS TEAM STATS
AS OF MARCH 1ST, 2013

Detroit Vipers - By Points - March 1st Stats - 2013
Skaters	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	GW	PIM	SOG	SPCT
John Tavares	60	23	31	54	-9	5	18	179	12.85
Brad Boyes	59	26	23	49	+9	4	14	166	15.66
Michael Grabner	50	15	32	47	-4	2	10	161	9.32
Kyle Okposo	60	18	29	47	-8	1	89	183	9.84
Matt Moulson	53	15	25	40	-6	2	14	154	9.74
T.J. Oshie	61	15	19	34	Even	4	48	166	9.04
Lubomir Visnovsky	56	8	20	28	-7	2	6	113	7.08
Mark Streit	58	5	22	27	+3	4	12	110	4.55
Andrew MacDonald	60	4	22	26	+4	0	22	89	4.49
Cam Barker	52	4	14	18	-16	1	49	81	4.94
Josh Bailey	58	6	8	14	-6	0	8	90	6.67
Casey Cizikas	49	5	5	10	-6	1	2	48	10.42
Matt Martin	60	3	6	9	-6	1	22	51	588
Jesse Joensuu	58	4	2	6	-12	0	6	62	6.45
John Moore	18	1	5	6	-6	0	2	29	3.45
Colin McDonald	37	1	4	5	-6	0	12	29	3.45
Jay Pandolfo	46	0	4	4	-9	0	13	32	0.00
Marty Reasoner	27	3	1	4	-5	0	6	26	11.54
Matt Carkner	57	1	3	4	-2	0	115	21	4.76
Milan Jurcina	48	2	0	2	-2	0	32	35	5.71
Goalies	GP	W	L	T	GAA	TOI	SV	SV%	SHO
Pascal LeClaire	34	20	13	0	2.24	1,959	889	92.41	2
Evgani Nabokov	31	12	15	0	2.66	1,693	814	91.56	1

[Vipers2k9]

VIPERS ACQUIRE PERRY FROM ANAHEIM

detroitnews.com - March 6th, 2013 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - The Detroit Vipers were somewhat active at the trade deadline this season as they get set to make a run at the playoffs in their first year of action. The first trade they take would be another mind blowing trade that gave the fans alot of hope going forward.

The Anaheim Ducks have agreed to send RW Corey Perry and Defensemen Nathan Guenin to the Vipers in exchange for Defensemen John Moore & Andrew MacDonald along with right winger Nino Niederreiter.

Detroit's second deal was something of a weird one as the St. Louis Blues will send left winger Chris Porter to the Vipers for right winger BJ Crombeen. The same BJ Crombeen they traded to Detroit with TJ Oshie in the trade at the beginning of February.

With these new deals in place, Detroit now looks forward to the rest of the 2012 - 2013 season with the new hope that the playoffs are very much in reach.

[Vipers2k9]

VIPERS ON VERGE OF PLAYOFFS AFTER MARCH!!

detroitnews.com - April 1st, 2013 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - The Detroit Vipers are now on the doorstep to their first playoff appearence in franchise history after finishing up the month of march going 9 - 5 - 1 and now sit in fourth place in the conference playoff standings.

Detroit did not have many road blocks in the month of March but did gain another star player in Corey Perry from Anaheim at the trade deadline that gave Detroit another weapon on the ice for teams to deal with.

The Buffalo Sabers are the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch both a playoff spot and division championship this season and are right now one point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the President's trophy. Here is how the Eastern Conference standings look as of right now...

NHL Standings - Updated: Apr 1, 2013
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	OTL	PTS
1. Y - Buffalo Sabers	49	23	3	101
2. New York Rangers	43	23	9	95
3. Florida Panthers	43	27	5	91
4. Detroit Vipers	41	25	9	91
5. Pittsburgh Penguins	41	27	9	89
6. Carolina Hurricanes	40	28	8	88
7. Washington Capitals	41	30	5	87
8. Montreal Canadiens	39	30	7	85
9. Philadelphia Flyers	37	29	10	84
10. Boston Bruins	37	30	9	83
11. Tampa Bay Lightning	37	33	5	79
12. Ottawa Senators	37	34	4	78
13. Toronto Maple Leafs	33	32	9	75
14. Winnipeg Jets	30	30	15	75
15. New Jersey Devils	32	34	9	73

In the Western Conference the Kings still remain the number one team in the conference just a point behind Buffalo for the top spot in the league but pretty much looks like they have the number one seed in the west taken right now.

Calgary is now looking over their shoulders at the surging Detroit Red Wings who are now just three points back of second in the conference going into April.

Vancouver had a fire lit under them as well as they came from being in 13th overall in the conference and no playoff chance to being 8th overall and now in the playoffs heading into April. Here is a look at the wild western conference standings...

NHL Standings - Updated: Apr 1, 2013
WEST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	OTL	PTS
1. x - Los Angeles Kings	48	23	4	100
2. x - Calgary Flames	42	26	8	92
3. Detroit Red Wings	43	30	3	89
4. San Jose Sharks	41	27	7	89
5. Minnesota Wild	38	26	11	87
6. Nashville Predators	35	25	15	85
7. Dallas Stars	38	34	3	79
8. Vancouver Canucks	36	34	7	79
9. Phoenix Coyotes	33	30	12	78
10. Columbus Bluejackets	32	31	12	76
11. St. Louis Blues	33	33	9	75
12. Colorado Avalanche	34	35	6	74
13. Anaheim Ducks	36	38	2	74
14. Chicago Blackhawks	34	38	4	72
15. Edmonton Oilers	27	38	10	64

[Vipers2k9]

DETROIT VIPERS TEAM STATS
AS OF APRIL 1ST, 2013

Detroit Vipers - By Points - April 1st Stats - 2013
Skaters	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	GW	PIM	SOG	SPCT
Corey Perry	76	25	35	60	+22	4	95	251	9.96
John Tavares	67	24	35	59	-6	5	18	198	12.12
Kyle Okposo	73	32	34	55	-9	2	102	209	10.05
Michael Grabner	65	19	35	54	-5	2	19	215	8.84
Brad Boyes	74	29	24	53	+10	5	18	197	14.72
Matt Moulson	68	17	30	47	Even	3	18	184	9.24
T.J. Oshie	76	17	24	41	+1	4	68	193	8.81
Mark Streit	73	7	28	35	+5	4	12	146	4.79
Lubomir Visnovsky	71	9	21	30	+11	1	8	134	6.72
Cam Barker	67	6	22	28	-17	2	65	96	6.25
Josh Bailey	73	7	9	16	-8	0	8	116	6.03
Casey Cizikas	64	6	8	14	-6	2	11	63	9.52
Matt Martin	75	3	10	13	-7	1	39	65	4.62
Marty Reasoner	42	8	3	11	Even	1	10	46	17.39
Jesse Joensuu	73	4	4	8	-13	0	6	79	5.06
Jay Pandolfo	53	0	6	6	-6	0	13	41	0.00
Matt Carkner	72	1	4	5	Even	0	149	33	3.03
Colin McDonald	40	1	4	5	-7	0	12	31	3.23
Chris Porter	14	3	1	4	-2	0	4	16	18.75
Milan Jurcina	63	3	0	3	+3	0	4	39	7.69
Goalies	GP	W	L	T	GAA	TOI	SV	SV%	SHO
Pascal LeClaire	43	24	16	0	2.23	2,394	1,105	92.55	2
Evgani Nabokov	39	17	18	0	2.62	2,177	1,026	91.53	1

[Vipers2k9]

VIPERS CLINCH SPOT IN PLAYOFFS
FACE OFF WITH CAPS IN ROUND 1

detroitnews.com - April 14th, 2013 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - Not may people would have said that the former N.Y. Islanders would be playoff bound but a new city, new team name and a new GM proved them completely wrong.

The Detroit Vipers not only quailfy for the 2013 playoffs but was able to open the series at the Palace in Auburn Hills for games 1 and 2. Detroit finished the season fourth overall with 101 points on the season. They now get ready to face off with the Washington Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF MATCH UPS

1. Buffalo Sabers vs. 8. Philadelphia Flyers

2. New York Rangers vs. 7. Pittsburgh Penguins

3. Florida Panthers vs. 6. Carolina Hurricanes

4. Detroit Vipers vs. 5. Washington Capitals

Over in the Western Conference, The Los Angeles Kings will go into the playoffs as the number one seeded team in the west to defend their championship. The Vancouver Canucks missed out on the playoffs by just two points.

Calgary wrapped the second spot while the Nashville Predators won their first division championship, beating out the Detroit Red Wings by just two points. Here is a look at the Western Conference Playoffs Series...

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF MATCH UPS

1. Los Angeles Kings vs. 8. St. Louis Blues

2. Calgary Flames vs. 7. Dallas Stars

3. Nashville Predators vs. 6. Detroit Red Wings

4. Minnesota Wild vs. 5. San Jose Sharks

[seb170455]

Congratulations with your playoff spot. Good luck against Washington.

[Vipers2k9]

POWER OVERLOAD!!
WASHINGTON SCORE FOUR ON POWER PLAY TO TAKE GAME ONE AT PALACE

detroitnews.com - April 16th, 2013 - By Vic Venom

Auburn Hills, Mi - The Washinton Capitals score four power play goals on the night including 3 on a 5:00 advantage to help them to a 6 - 4 win over the Detroit Vipers in game one of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals.

Detroit jumped out to an early lead in the game when a shot by Milan Jurcina was redirected into the back of the net by Matt Moulson and the Vipers lead 1 - 0 just 4:36 into the game. Detroit added to the lead when Corey Perry fired a wrist shot that was stopped by former Vipers netminder Rick Dipierto but hopped on to the waiting stick of captain John Tavares who fired it home to make 2 - 0 Detroit and would stay that way after one period of play.

Detroit started the second period much like the first but this time they would connect on the power play as Michael Grabner connected with Kyle Okposo on a 2 on 1 chance that Okposo put in the net and Detroit led 3 - 0. The wheels then came off the car after that.

It started with Milan Jurcina getting a game misconduct for checking from behind on Nicklas Backstrom that gave the Washington Capitals a 5:00 power play that they just straight abused. Alexander Semin score the first goal of the power play at the 11:03 mark to make it 3 - 1 Detroit. Then Alexander Ovechkin scored his first of the playoffs to make it 3 - 2 and before the power play could end they added another goal from Ryan Smyth and the game was tied at 3 - 3 heading into the third period.

Washington got the scoring started in the third when Mike Green scored his first of the playoffs just 0:41 in to give Washington their first lead of the game at 4 - 3. Detroit did not let this lead last for long as Cam Barker hit a streaking Michael Grabner who fired one between the pads and tied the game at 4 - 4 with just over 9:00 left in regulation.

Washington though was able to regain the lead on a bad bounce off the boards that came out in front and Nicklas Backstrom tapped it home to give the Capitals a 5 - 4 lead. They would add another power play goal with 0:05 left in the game to take game one of the series 6 - 4 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

We now set up for Game 2 at the Palace coming your way on April 18th, 2013 with a face off time of 7:30 pm.

Washington Capitals at Detroit Vipers
Apr 16, 2013 1 2 3 F WAS (1 - 0 - 0) 0 3 3 6 DET (0 - 1 - 0) 2 1 1 4 Three Stars Alexander Ovechkin - Washington 2 goals & 1 assist Nicklas Backstrom - Washington 1 goal & 3 assists Michael Grabner - Detroit 1 goal & 1 assist	Team Stats Comparison WAS DET Shots on Goal 36 20 Hits 8 3 Faceoffs Won-Lost 27/40 13/40 Penalty Minutes 6:00 21:00 Power Plays Converted 4 1 Power Play Opportunities 7 3 Time on Attack 7:31 5:28
Scoring Summary FIRST PERIOD DET 4:36 - M. Moulson (1), (M. Jurcina, C. Cizikas) DET 8:19 - J. Tavares (1), (C. Perry, L. Visnovsky) SECOND PERIOD DET 8:10 - K. Okposo (1), (M. Grabner, C. Barker) PP WAS 11:03 - A. Semin (1), (A. Ovechkin, N. Backstrom) PP WAS 11:58 - A. Ovechkin (1), (N. Backstrom) PP WAS 13:49 - R. Smyth (1), (M. Ribeiro, J. Carlson) PP THIRD PERIOD WAS 0:41 - M. Green (1), (J. Carlson, M. Knuble) DET 11:18 - M. Grabner (1), (C. Barker) WAS 14:36 - N. Backstrom (1), (Unassisted) WAS 19:55 - A. Ovechkin (2), (M. Green, N. Backstrom) PP