Monday, November 30th, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
The line that a player is on significantly affects their fantasy value. A talented player could be buried on a third line and relegated to a check role, while a checking player could get a spot next to the Sedin’s and become a fantasy hero. Let’s break down some of the best fantasy lines in hockey today and hopefully these players are on your team and if not go out and try to acquire them.
San Jose Sharks Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau: The Sharks made fantasy owners feel like they’re in heaven by putting all their top guns on the same line.
This line has lived up to the hype as they have contributed 20 points in the month of November. Heatley, in his first season in San Jose, has fit in nicely with team high 18 goals, Joe Thornton leads the NHL in assists with 30 and Patrick Marelau is playing for a contract with 17 goals and 31 points in first 28 games.
Anaheim Ducks Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, and Bobby Ryan: Another west coast team putting all of their eggs in one basket. Even though the team has been struggling for wins, this line has not been struggling to contribute to fantasy teams.
Corey Perry is in the midst of a franchise best 18-game point streak. Bobby Ryan had 7 goals in the month of November and Getzlaf has been an assist machine with 23 assists in 25 games. This line was the hottest line in November contributing 35 points in the month.
Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin: I know Semin is hurt right now and that is not helping fantasy owners right now, but put these dynamic players together and fantasy nirvana happens. I also know that any line that has the league’s top goal scorer will make the other line mates instant scorers, just ask the fill-in guy Chris Clark. Bruce Bourdreau has bought into the philosophy of having his superstars all play together and they have contributed 20 points together this season.
Pickup of the Week:Tomas Plekanec Canadiens C:
The Canadiens have been hit with the injury bug, one player taken advantage of the increase playing time is center Tomas Plekanec. The 27-yer-old center has filled in for Scott Gomez on the top line and has 14 points (3G, 11A) in his last 13 games including chipping in 3 power play points.
The Czech forward has been a steady producer with three straight 20 goals he has even been a career plus player (+28). Although Scott Gomez has returned to practice and seems ready to play and will hurt Plekanec power play time, I don’t think it will hurt his production for he was producing with second line minutes before the injury.
Sunday, November 29th, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
As the shoppers’ dust settles on another Black Friday, the dust is settling for injuries around the league.
We have already seen big names missing time, and it seems every day we check the headlines as another NHL player is out for an extended period of time.
In this, an Olympic year, you start to wonder if people are starting to just coast to make it to their respective countries’ rosters and wait until after the Olympic break to really start playing.
Now on to the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick or the top three stories I am watching this week.
Talk about your sophomore slumps, as last year’s Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason has fallen off the map. The 21-year-old Blue Jackets net minder is now ranked 44th in save percentage (.890) and 45th in goals against (3.46).
The NHL goalie is a crazy character; very few stay relevant for an extended period; that is a reason to marvel at Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo right now.
Mason’s coach, Ken Hitchcock, had the best quote about the second-year player this week, “Just because a guy’s a second-year player, it doesn’t mean he’s a better player yet.”
The Blue Jackets are still in the thick of things and a good team but will not make an impact without the services of their franchise goalie.
We all have to remember that this kid is only 21 years young and made the rare move right from juniors to the NHL before we put him in the Jim Carey category.
With four games this week, I will be watching to see which Steve Mason will show up.
Kovalchuk Conundrum:
The Thrashers keep winning, and Ilya Kovalchuk keeps scoring. The trade deadline is far away right now, and first comes his Olympic run for the Russian squad, but I have to keep my eye on this situation.
Similar to the Marian Hossa problem of not signing a contract extension, the Thrashers were forced to trade their franchise player in February 2008. The Penguins were the benefactor of that move and went on to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The problem this year is the Thrashers are a winning team and it’s evident they depend heavily on Kovalchuk’s offensive prowess.
Atlanta this season is 10-4-3 with the winger in the lineup; his stats are a staggering 14 goals and 24 points in those 17 games.
I will be keeping my eye on this situation all of December, as in those 15 games ahead could be a deciding factor on not only the Thrashers’ playoff hopes but the Stanley Cup run of another team.
Games Of The Week:
With two big returns this week, I had to highlight both of them in the Games of the Week. The first day of December matches up Dany Heatley against the Senators.
Although the game is in San Jose so he won’t feel the same wrath of Ottawa, it will be interesting to see how the team he refused to play for will treat the talented scoring winger.
The move has seemed to work for both teams so far, as Heatley (18 goals) has teamed up with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau for a dominant line.
Milan Michalek, the main piece coming back to the Senators, leads the team with 13 goals, while Jonathan Cheechoo has chipped in filling the checking line.
The other return is Marian Hossa back to Pittsburgh on Saturday. You don’t think the Penguins organization will have Hossa walk down a hallway of them hoisting the cup, maybe even a picture of him sitting watching it.
Before Hossa became the $62.8 million man, he jumped the Crosby ship and spurned the Penguins for a “greater” chance to win a cup with the team that beat them in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.
You heard the reaction he got throughout last year’s finals; expect the same on Saturday.
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 Written by:
Alex Mueller
4CYB77H3PU88
O San Jose – As we just pass the quarter mark in the NHL and we look at the standings, who has the best record in the NHL? None other than the San Jose Sharks. Of course the Sharks finished with the top overall record last year and ended up being bounced in the 1st round. Now we still have a good chunk of the season left but if I was this team I don’t think I would want to finish with the best record in the league or even the 2nd or 3rd best. This team has had really high expectations the last few years and this past year was their biggest. They have not gotten past the 2nd round since the 03-04 season and I think the lower they fly on the radar, going into the playoffs, the better. Would I really suggest tanking games in the Shark Tank? Yes I would. Current honors held by the Sharks this season including no losses at home and tied for the most goals scored with Washington (though Washington has played one less game). They also have three players in the top 7 for points (see things I like below). The Heatley acquisition has worked out well for them this year. Question is come playoff time will they advance further? Last year the West was pretty tough but this year it has gotten even tougher. Depending on how the rest of the season goes they could even possibly play Detroit in the 1st round, which you know will not be an easy round. Time will tell how well the Sharks play in the postseason as it’s never easy to predict postseason success, especially when it comes to this team.
Goalie Spotlight
No goalie spotlight due to the holidays this week, it’ll be back next week.
Okay fight if you can get past the fugly uniforms, a lot of spinning in this one too.
Trickshot of the Week
David Perron for his neato stickhandle between the legs goal against the Islanders.
Things I like
1. Well up to Monday night’s games three of the top 5 point scorers were on the Sharks. That’s impressive anyway you slice it. The last time we had three teammates in the top 5? The 00-01 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins had Jaromir Jagr 1st with 121 pts. and Alexei Kovalev and Martin Straka tied for 4th with 95 pts.
2. Don’t look now but Nashville has won 6 in a row. What you didn’t notice? Well neither did I, until I looked it up. Despite the winning streak they are only tied for 7th place in the conference. It’s a mighty tough year out west this season.
3. Don’t look now again but the Panthers have strung together a nice winning streak. You probably didn’t notice since they were so far down in the bottom. Alas they are still pretty much down at the bottom despite going 5-0-2.
4. Corey Perry’s 15 game point streak, keep it coming since he is on my fantasy team.
Things I don’t
1. Well I hate to say I told you so but the Rangers have now fallen out of the top 8 spots in the conference, after spending a good portion on top. Of course it’s still really early. But all things considered, I don’t think they have skilled enough players to make the playoffs.
2. Georges Laraque’s hit on Niklas Kronwall, play the puck George not the knee.
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
November 19, 1929 Pittsburgh’s Johnny McKinnon and Toronto’s Hap Day each set a new NHL record for goals in a game by a defenseman. They had four each as Pittsburgh beat Toronto 10-5. The current record of 5 goals is held by Ian Turnbull. Day also had an assist.
November 20, 1999 Washington Capitals set an NHL record by going 12 consecutive games without allowing a power-play goal, in a 3-0 win at Boston. Craig Billington recorded his 100th career victory (and 8th career shutout).
November 20, 1999 Steve Yzerman picked up an assist to become the 7th NHL player to reach 1,500 career points. The milestone came in the Red Wings 2-1 loss at Edmonton. Yzerman joined Gordie Howe as the only NHL players to score 1,500 points with one team.
November 22, 1972 Penguins set an NHL record with five goals in a span of 2:07 during a 10-4 win over the Blues, in Pittsburgh. Scoring were Bryan Hextall, Jean Pronovost, Al McDonough, Ken Schinkel & Ron Schock, on goalie Wayne Stephenson.
November 22, 1967 34-year-old Scotty Bowman was named as the new head coach of the St. Louis Blues, replacing Lynn Patrick, who resigned. It was Bowman’s first head coaching job in the NHL. He lost in his debut behind the bench that same night, 3-1 to Montreal.
November 22, 1986 Wayne Gretzky scored his 39th career hat trick and added two assists, to give him 500 career NHL goals. The milestone came in a 5-2 Oilers’ win over the Canucks in Edmonton. Gretzky’s 500 goals came in just 575 games.
November 22, 1985 Gil Perreault scored three goals (in a span of 4:01 in the third period) as the Sabres beat the Quebec Nordiques 7-5. It was the 18th (and final) hat trick of Perreault’s NHL career.
November 23, 1991 Boston’s Ray Bourque became the fourth defenseman in NHL history to record 700 career assists. #700 came in a 7-4 Bruins win over Buffalo.
November 24, 1926 Detroit Cougars (before being re-named the Red Wings) recorded their first win in franchise history 1-0 over the Black Hawks at Chicago. Frank Frederickson scored the game-winner, while Hap Holmes recorded the first shutout of his rookie season.
November 24, 1989 Mario Lemieux improved his career penalty-shot record to a perfect 5-for-5 when he scored against Bob Mason (and added two assists) in a 7-4 Penguins’ win at Washington.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. San Jose
2. New Jersey
3. Chicago
4. Nashville
5. Florida
The Ducks got a much needed win against Tampa Bay on Thursday, of course they never make anything easy. After leading 3-0 the Ducks let the Lightning back into the game as they scored three unanswered goals and forced overtime. The Ducks were able to salvage the win when Scott Neidermayer scored on the power play about a minute into the OT. The Ducks are having a hard time putting together a solid 60 minutes of consistent hockey.
They followed up with a loss to the Sharks 3-2. A tough loss in a very tight game they needed to have. Towards the end of the game they were unable to secure the puck in the Sharks end in order to pull Hiller. They finally got Hiller out of the crease with about 15 seconds left. The power play, which had been struggling, is now clicking. The bad thing is they haven’t played defense that well and they are now struggling to score even strength goals.
The Ducks won the game against the Flames on Monday night, of course they win in true Ducks fashion but giving up a goal in the final 20 seconds of the game to the Flames to force overtime. The Ducks ended up winning in the shootout, when Teemu Selanne had the only shootout goal. It’s nice they got the win but the problem is the Flames also received points. Even if the Ducks keep winning the overtime games, if they play western conference teams that also receive points this will affect their playoff chances and positioning.
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
The NHL should be giving thanks for all the young stars in the league. Having marketing figures like Crosby and Ovechkin has made fans forget about the loss season. Every team in the league has a young star to be excited about, number one overall picks are producing and 18-20 year olds are proving they belong with the big boys.
The NHL is getting stuffed these days so let’s crack open the cranberry’s and this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick.
The Return of Hossa:
The most anticipated Blackhawk debut is schedule to happen this week as Marian Hossa will return from offseason shoulder surgery. The winger signed a controversial 12-year, $62.8 million contract from the divisional rival Red Wings has been skating with the team all week.
Head coach Joel Quenneville have been skating him in practice with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. I would not be surprised if that is the line Hossa works with to start, it is important for the winger to come out strong and make a good impression on the fans and more important his teammates. All of the NHL will be watching his return and more critical is how the Blackhawks finagle the cap.
Detroit Rock Infirmary:
When will enough be enough as the Red Wings have loss another big name player to an injury. Niklas Kronwall is out 4-8 weeks due to a knee injury, on a dirty hit by Canadiens menace Georges Laraque. The Red Wings have always been heralded as a team that just fits parts into the whole no matter who is there or not there. This season the injuries are catching up to the team shown in their subpar start.
Kronwall Is added to the list that includes Johan Franzen (torn ACL out till March), Valtteri Filppula (broken wrist out till late December), Jason Williams (fractured fibula out till mid-January, Andreas Lilja (concussion out indefinitely). I will be watching out the walking wounded Wings will do with a busy four games in six days.
Game Of The Week:
I know the obvious pick would be the big Sharks and Blackhawks, top two teams in the West, Blackhawks debut for Hossa, but I also will be watching a game between two of the hottest teams in the NHL. The Predators have won five-straight games host the Florida Panthers, who have points in their last six games (5-0-1).
The Predators first line of Jason Arnott, Steve Sullivan and J.P. Dumont has been on fire of lately, as well as the power play as the Predators have 12 power play goals in last 13 games. The Panthers have a tough stretch this week with home games against the Penguins and Rangers before facing the Predators on Saturday.
The cats from down south have been amazingly on this run without arguable their best player, as David Booth is still out with concussion symptoms. They have been led by Nathan Horton with two goals and four assists is riding a five-game point streak. Of course watch the big Hossa debut but don’t forget to tune in two teams on the rise.
I was downright giddy Thursday night over NHL hockey with must see pucks everywhere.
Five out of eight games were decided in overtime or a shootout, we saw the goal of the year (CLICK FOR AMAZING GOAL), a player get knocked unconscious (CLICK FOR BIG HIT), and a slaughter in Calgary (Chicago Blackhawks 7, Flames 1).
In Carolina, the league’s two worst teams—the Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs—scored twice in the final 30 seconds including the tying goal with 2.9 ticks left on the clock to force extra time.
You want a good gauge on how great this night was? The buzz on NHL action at ESPN around midnight was greater than the excitement over Dolphins running back Ricky Williams’ 3 touchdowns that probably won fantasy football players their week 11 games after just one night.
Now, with each team having played roughly 20 games we’ve reached the quarter pole of the season—exactly what did we know and what have we learned?
We know Alex Ovechkin is the league’s best goal scorer, but we didn’t know just how great he is. In 15 games so far this season, he has 15 goals and despite missing over two weeks with a shoulder injury, he still leads the league in shots on goal with 87. Assuming he stays healthy the rest of the way, there’s no reason to believe he can’t reach 70 goals and another Hart Trophy will be in Ovechkin’s hands.
I knew the L.A. Kings would be better this year, I never imagined they’d be this good or Anze Kopitar would rapidly become one of the game’s elite. With 14 goals and 32 points, Kopitar would win the MVP for players not named Ovechkin.
We know the Blackhawks are one of the best teams in the league, but we didn’t know just how good they would be. Star winger Marian Hossa hasn’t even touched the ice yet and the hawks are 13-5-2. Personally, I thought they’d have to merely tread water until Hossa made his debut. With his return imminent, it’s time for the league to be very afraid of the uprising in the windy city.
The Blackhawks already rank near the top of the league in goals per game, 2nd in goals against per game (47 goals allowed in 20 games) and have the top penalty killing percentage in the league–all while being hit hard by injuries thus far (Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Jonathan Toews, Dave Bolland and Brent Seabrook) have all missed multiple games. Not only are they emerging as a legitimate cup contender but this might be the best coaching job of Joel Quenneville’s career. He’s the early nominee for coach of the year.
On the flip side, we knew the Maple Leafs would be bad—3 wins in 20 games is another story. However, we didn’t know the Carolina Hurricanes would be giving Toronto a run for their money in the battle for the top draft pick in 2011. Last year’s eastern conference runners-up have 4 wins in 21 games and their best player (Eric Staal) and star goalie (Cam Ward) are both on IR. It’s already time to focus on Duke and UNC hoops in Raleigh.
Sure, number 1 overall draft picks could go the way of Alexander Daigle or Patrik Stefan, so while it’s safe to say we knew Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos would be a star we didn’t know he’d be the main attraction in Florida. With 14 goals already and the aforementioned goal of the year, Stamkos has quickly become a force.
On the other hand, nobody knew about the rapid decline of teammate Vincent Lecavalier. Coming off a poor season, the Lightning signed their veteran center to a multi-year extension, which was supposed to put his mind at ease by ending any and all trade talk. Lecavalier has responded with 4 goals and just 18 points in 19 games and is no longer an All-Star caliber player.
Meanwhile, we knew Islanders rookie John Tavares—the No. 1 overall pick in 2010—would be good. There were too many Sidney Crosby comparisons for him to disappoint. Yet, he’s somehow exceeded expectations. While his 9 goals and 10 assists are mighty impressive, we could not have known he’d be able to lift his lifeless franchise out of the cellar and into the hunt for a playoff spot. Keep in mind, this is still without goalie Rick DiPietro, who still hasn’t played this season but is nearing a return. Could there be playoff hockey on Long Island? The fact that this question is even legitimate is completely shocking.
Finally, we all know hockey is a physically grueling sport that can be dangerous at times but dirty hits and concussions have entered dark territory. The NHL needs to find a way to better protect its players or we’ll soon be reading about permanent brain damage like NFL legends battle with. We don’t know how the NHL can do this—maybe bigger helmets or stricter penalties and suspensions? Whatever the solution, it better come quick.
We know there’s still plenty to learn with many months remaining, but early reviews on the first quarter are looking good—we know the 2009-10 season could be one for the ages.
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 Written by:
Alex Mueller
Does anyone else find this funny? – Alex Ovechkin has missed the past 6 games, yet he still leads the league in shots on goal. Hey Alex, we know you’re a prolific scorer but you might want to try passing the puck a little more.
A Tale of Two Cities – Detroit and Pittsburgh will be forever linked in hockey lore because of playing each other in back to back Stanley Cup finals and having some of the highest ratings in some time in those games. This year both teams started out in opposite directions. They have now both reversed directions since those starts. Of course Pittsburgh, with Evgeni Malkin back, has seemingly stopped the bleeding.
Detroit started out 3-4-2 not a bad record but being Detroit you would expect more. Of course they had to open up the season overseas in Europe, which is always tough on any team. Pavel Datsyuk started out slowly, with only 4 pts in the first 7 games, which didn’t help matters. They also had huge injuries to Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen, two key players who are still out. Detroit has now won 6 of 7, their only loss in that span was to umm.. Toronto. Yes you read that correctly, perhaps they fell asleep. Datsyuk has since shaken off his slow start and Zetterberg has been his usual productive self. Goaltending is still iffy. Chris Osgood hasn’t really looked all that sharp and neither has his replacement Jimmy Howard.
Pittsburgh started out red hot and had the best record in the NHL. They also had a perfect 7-0 road record. Things were looking good. Then Malkin got injured and they lost 5 of 6 games, before rebounding with a tough win against Boston and then a win against Anaheim. Also starting in the last week of October their defenseman started dropping like flies. It started with Sergei Gonchar, then Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik, and Alex Goligoski followed. I can’t imagine many teams playing all that well without their top four defenseman. In fact I’m sure many teams wouldn’t win for a long time or until one of them came back. I think Malkin has a great chance to win his first Hart trophy this year as evident by the slump the Penguins suffered while he was out. Though I do realize the missing defensemen also contributed to that, Malkin is the Penguins rock. While Crosby is talented, he tends to be streaky, Malkin is generally more consistent.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think both will end up in the playoffs and both will be one of the top seeds. I also think that another rematch is possible. Although I personally don’t want to see the same teams three years in a row, I mean Marion Hossa won’t even be on the losing team if that happens. The Devils and the Sharks might have something to say about it, as they currently hold the top spots in the standings. But neither has had much postseason success recently, and of the course the Sharks playoff problems are well documented. Now teams can and have come out of nowhere to go to the Finals but, generally speaking, teams have been on the brink for a few years before they finally get there. It should be an interesting finish to the season.
Brendan Shanahan – I like to bid a fond farewell to Brendan Shanahan as he retires from the NHL after 21 seasons. Shanahan finished his career 23rd in points (1354) and 11th in goals (656). He is also the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals. Like Joe Sakic he will be missed.
Tim Thomas has the distinction this week of being in the goalie spotlight and also the goat of the week (see below).
Tim Thomas was the winner of the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and the William Jennings trophy (best GAA for a team) with Manny Fernandez last year. However it took a long time for success and recognition to come to Thomas at the professional level. He won the Vezina trophy at the age of 34. He was the oldest first time winner in 43 years since Gump Worsley did it at age 36 in the 1965-66 season for the Montreal Canadiens.
Michigan born Thomas played at the University of Vermont. He was a two-time All-ECAC Conference selection and a two-time NCAA East All-American. He also holds many Vermont records including; games played (140), wins (81), and minutes played (3,950). He is also second in the NCAA Division I record book in career saves (3,950). Thomas was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994 but nothing ever came of that. He finished up his four years of playing at Vermont. After playing briefly in ECHL and IHL, Thomas made his way to Finland where he played for HIFK in the SM-liiga league. He led them to the championship that year.
He signed with the Edmonton Oilers in 1998 and joined their AHL affiliate only to end up in Finland again. He came back to the states to play for the Detroit Vipers only to end up in Europe again this time playing in the Swedish league. He then signed with the Boston Bruins but elected to play a year in the SM-liiga Finnish league again. He then came back to the states to play for the Bruins affiliate the Providence Bruins. He played a few games for the Bruins too during the stint and ironically his first NHL win came against the Oilers, the team that drafted him. He returned to Finland for the 4th time and racked up a league high SV% and broke the league shutout mark for a season. He led his team to a 2nd place finish that year. Finally done with Finland, Thomas came back to the Bruins (both Providence and Boston.) Due to injuries to two goalies he was supposed to backup in different seasons, Thomas emerged as the number one goalie. His last two seasons were his statistical best in the NHL and he was also named to the All-Star game both times, the first time as a replacement and the second time as a starter.
Thomas led the Bruins to their best record in some time in the 08-09 season and despite suffering a tough 7th game lost in the 2nd round to the Hurricanes, expectations are high this year in Boston. Boston has struggled this year but Thomas for the most part has held up his end. Already recording 3 shutouts this season Thomas should easily pass his career high of 5. Look for Thomas to continue leading his team in the chase for a playoff spot.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Some really good fights this week to choose from. I narrowed it down to four though, two with bloodshed.
High intensity fight, I love the way Rypien fights with his fists of fury. Brad May is getting older and you can tell. May gets his head caught in his jersey.
McGrattan gets a nice bloody nose for his troubles. Bonus points for his blonde Mohawk.
Goat of the Week
Tim Thomas for letting in a goal in the final second against the Penguins (Bill Guerin) and then giving up the game winning overtime goal (Pascal Dupuis) after misplaying the puck badly.
Trick shot of the Week
Rick Nash in his shootout winning goal against the Ducks, started to lose his balance, but he was able to regain it and score the game winner anyway.
Things I like
1. As noted above watch out NHL, Detroit is starting to heat up, Hockey’s version of the Death Star or the New England Patriots.
2. Carolina won! Sure, barely in a shootout but a win is a win. Next up they can try for a road win.
3. The Phil Kessel addition in Toronto. Sure the Maple Leafs gave up a lot to get him and they had to wait a bit until he played, but he has been productive since entering the lineup. He has 8 pts in 7 games and is one of the few players on the team with a positive +/-.
4. Chris Pronger has been quite a force in Philadelphia. Leading all defenseman on the team in scoring and 2nd on the team in the all important +/-. Not sure why Anaheim didn’t keep him and dump Scott Neidermayer or make Scott take a huge pay cut like they make Teemu Selanne take.
1. There have been a lot of blowouts this week and I am not a fan of them. It makes games harder to watch on TV and in person. Obviously if one team is playing better, that’s the way it goes but I still don’t have to like it. We had Vancouver (8) vs. Colorado (2), Atlanta (7) vs. Los Angeles (0), Detroit (9) vs. Columbus (1), Philadelphia (5) vs. Ottawa (1).
2. If Boston has hopes of making the playoffs again, David Krejci is going to have to step it up. Having lost Kessel to Toronto and Marc Savard to an injury, Krejci is needed more to prove that last years successful season was not a fluke.
3. If the playoffs started today only one Canadian team would be in it, Calgary. I’m sure that doesn’t sit well with most Canadians and I think that would only make it harder for them to win their first cup in 17 years. Good thing it’s still early.
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
November 12, 1931 The first NHL game was played at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Black Hawks won 2-1 over the Leafs.
November 12, 1910 At the annual meeting of the National Hockey Association (a forerunner of the NHL) a new rule was passed changing hockey’s playing time from two 30 minute periods to three 20 minute periods (with two ten-minute intermissions).
November 13, 1947 For the first time in NHL history, the league initiated the policy of having players raise their sticks to signify the scoring of a goal. Montreal’s Billy Reay became the first to do so as the Canadiens beat Chicago, 5-2 at the Forum.
November 13, 1934 St. Louis’ Ralph Bowman scored the first penalty shot goal in NHL history. It came during a 2-1 Maroons win over the St. Louis Eagles. It was Bowman’s first NHL goal, and just the second penalty shot attempt in NHL history.
November 13, 1992 Goaltender Pat Jablonski recorded the first shutout in Tampa Bay Lightning history (and the first of his NHL career) to lead the Lightning to a 1-0 win over the Ottawa Senators, in Tampa Bay.
November 14, 2001 Patrick Roy became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 200 games with two teams (Montreal and Colorado) when the Avalanche won 1-0 against the visiting Minnesota Wild. It was Roy’s 54th career shutout.
November 15, 1973 Boston’s Bobby Orr had three power play goals and added four assists to become the first NHL defenseman to score seven points in one game, as the Bruins beat the New York Rangers 10-2.
November 15, 1995 Rookie Alex Hicks scored on the first shot in his first career NHL game, then added another goal along with an assist to lead the Mighty Ducks to a 7-3 win over the Avalanche, in Anaheim.
November 17, 1979 Rookie Wayne Gretzky played against Gordie Howe for the first of four times in their NHL careers. Gretzky went scoreless while Howe picked up one assist in the Hartford Whalers’ 4-0 win over Edmonton.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. San Jose
2. New Jersey
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Calgary
Bottom 5
30. Carolina
29. Edmonton
28. St. Louis
27. Anaheim
26. Edmonton
Ducks Watch
The Ducks are in last place in the western conference and that doesn’t sit well with me. They lost the first game on an east coast road swing against the Devils. They looked like they were still on west coast time, they didn’t play well. They lost a heartbreaker in the shootout to Columbus. True they still got a point but they played well and they should have won. They don’t do real well in shootouts, not sure why, but they don’t.
Then they had their playoff rematch against Detroit. They played well but somehow every time they had tied the game and had momentum, Detroit would literally come right back and score. Tied at 4-4, Hiller allowed 2 horrible goals in a row which cost them the game. Also of note were the first few horrible penalties the Ducks took. The refs are never fair to the Ducks but these aren’t to be blamed on the refs these are just stupid penalties. Only two types of good penalties; ones that prevent goals and breakaways and ones that stick up for your teammates, these were neither. I find it disturbing that GM Brian Burke says that coach Randy Carlyle won’t be going anytime soon, he is a proven winner. All I know is the since the Stanley Cup win, all the Ducks ever do is start slow and take dumb penalties. If that isn’t a sign of undisciplined coaching I don’t know what is. A coaching change did wonders for Pittsburgh. I think it would here as well.
Next up the defending champs again and they made sure the Ducks stayed winless on this road trip. While Corey Perry’s point streak continued (12 games now), Ryan Getzlaf’s (11 games) did not. Getzlaf also uncharacteristically was in a fight against Bill Guerin, a man 15 years older than him. Of course when you take 3 penalties in the first 8 minutes of the game, you don’t exactly give yourself a great start. Worse though was the fact that Pittsburgh was without its top 4 defensemen and the Ducks could only manage 2 goals. This team is too talented to be in last place in the conference. They need to wake up and start doing the little things better. They turn the puck over way to much in their own zone and of course all those dumb penalties. Now comes a long home stand and make or break time for their seasons playoff hopes. In a related note, I’m shopping for some brown bags with eyeholes in them.
Monday, November 16th, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
Taking a risk is dangerous for a fantasy owner but this could bring big rewards. Scouring the waiver wire or other team’s chancy players some stick out like a sore thumb. These players have lopsided stats, very good in one category but abominable in others. Well let’s jump into it and look at some of the players that will reward your risk.
Nik Antropov, Thrashers C/W:
Big Nik is enjoying playing in the south, considered a bust in Toronto and exiled to New York at last year’s trade deadline the 6-foot-6 former first round pick has 16 assists in his first 17 games with the Thrashers. Here is the risk; he has yet to score a goal. The former first round pick has come off two straight season’s of 25+ goals but has been snake bitten early on.
Antropov is worth the risk for the simple reason he is the top line on this team, one that includes the high scoring Iyla Kovalchuk (for now). Look at his special teams numbers as well with seven of those helpers coming on the power play; he is even a plus player (+7). Although Antropov is hurting your team with zero goals he is contributing in other areas.
Brunette’s reputation as a power play specialist has made him a good fantasy play; this season is no different as eight of his 13 points have come on the man advantage. Brunette is averaging 3:41 minutes a game on the PP and has 250 career power play points. The risk involved with the 36-year-old winger is the Wild are struggling to score five-on-five with 29 goals in first 20 games and Brunette will never be up for the Selke Trophy with his -59 for career, and -6 this season.
With that in mind he is still worth the risk for those important power play points that could win you a category, just make sure you have a defensemen that can balance out those minus’s.
Crombeen was pluck off waivers by the Blues last season from Dallas and made an immediate impact on the team’s turnaround towards a playoff berth. The 24-year-old winger finished the season with 11 goals and 122 PIM with the Blues. This season while playing mostly on a line with Paul Kariya and Jay McClement, the 6-2 Crombeen has already accumulated 55 PIM while also playing a good defensive hockey game with a +4 rating.
Now the risk involved is his obvious lowly 13 career goals but Crombeen is worth the risk for he also is a good source for that hard to get shorthanded point. Andy Murray has shown trust in Crombeen and his shorthanded combo with Alex Steen has produced three shorthanded points already this season, adding to his fantasy value.
Alex Burrows struggles and the injury to Daniel Sedin have allowed Mason Raymond to become a big fantasy player this month. The speedy winger has nine points in his last seven games. The makeshift top line of Raymond, Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kessler has been productive in even strength and the power play. The one variable to keep an eye is when Daniel returns healthy where Alain Vigneault places the hot winger. Wherever he is placed he should continue to make an impact and should be owned in more than 20 percent of leagues.
Sunday, November 15th, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
Nearing the quarter mark of the hockey season is a good time to pass out some early awards, while still keeping an eye on the biggest storylines in the sport.
So far, my MVP is Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar who, whose high marks in goals and points scored is leading his team to surprising, but early on season playoff talk.
Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller is a big reason his team is leading the division. The best in the league in Goals Against Average (GAA) (1.77), save percentage (0.939) and tied for lead with 12 wins, Miller is a safe shot for best goalie.
Best defenseman goes to the Philadelphia Flyers as-good-as-advertised Chris Pronger, who is fourth among defensemen scoring with 17 points and an amazing +13 while playing a league high 27:01 minutes a game.
Awards aside, let’s get to the Hat Trick —or the three storylines I am following this week in the hockey world.
1) Win, Lose or Draw
From the highs of the New Jersey Devils, who have won eight games in a row, to the lows of the Carolina Hurricanes dropping 12 in a row, the rest of the season might not be much different for these two. Between the Zachs (Parise and Zajac) and rookie Niclas Bergfors, each player on the line has eight points in the last seven games, making the Devils as hot as their mascot suggests.
But a healthy Martin Brodeur and an improving Patrik Elias could makes things even scarier for their opponents. Brodeur has a 1.48 GAA and .942 save percentage in the last seven games, and it’s just a matter of time for Elias to get going, though he has yet to gain a point in the four games since returning from injury.
The woeful Hurricanes are a team devastated by injuries. With the losses of top flight goalie Cam Ward and top line center Eric Staal, Carolina is relying on the likes of Manny Legace in net. How has this team gone from Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season to the bottom of the NHL?
Though the revolving door to the infirmary has not helped, every team is dealing with injuries. But their depth has to be called into question. Banking on Eric Cole (one goal), Chad Larose (0 goals) and Sergei Samsonov (two goals) to be top line scorers was a mistake. Having a defense based around offensive defensemen Joni Pitkanen (-12) and Joe Corvo (-9) was another one. Although the Hurricanes finally won on Sunday, I will be watching these two teams going in opposite directions
Here at Pucking Awesome, we also keep you up to date with what is happening on the farm teams. The two hottest teams in the AHL are the Rochester Americans (13-2-1) and the Texas Stars (11-2-2). The Florida Panthers-affiliate Americans are led by 22-year-old goalie Alexander Salak. The Czech rookie is 10-1-0, while being near the top in all goalie categories.
The Dallas Stars-affiliates have given up only 31 goals in 17 games this season. The goalie tandems of Matt Climie and Brett Krahn have shut opponents down with a 1.85 and 1.38 GAA respectively.
3) Game of the Week:Bruins at Sabres, Friday
Northeast division rivals Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres will face off this week for the second time this season. The first matchup went to the defending division winners as the Bruins defeated Jhonas Enroth in his NHL debut, 4-2. This time around the goal-starved Bruins will most likely be facing Ryan Miller, and that is not a good combination for Boston who has been shut out three times this season.
Milan Lucic could return to the Bruins this week, but he has been told he can’t fight, making this division rivalry game a good measuring stick for him.
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 Written by:
Alex Mueller
Ovechkin and Malkin Injuries – Well whether or not Alex Ovechkin was kidding and he ends up missing a month or a week, the Capitals are better for this injury. Obviously they are a better team with Ovechkin, but I think this really helps them to grow as a team and gets the other guys to step up more. It seems to be working to, as they haven’t had any problems scoring goals. Of course they did play the Panthers two games in a row. The Capitals have scored the most goals in the league and San Jose is in 2nd place. These two teams should be neck and neck the rest of the year.
On the other hand the Penguins are reeling from the loss of Evgeni Malkin. While the Penguins are a great team, having been to the finals 2 years in a row, they really are a team of Crosby, Malkin and a bunch of role players. The role players play their role very well but when Crosby and Malkin are not playing well the team will suffer. Malkin is out and Crosby is in a points drought. Subsequently they have lost 4 of 6 since Malkin was injured and they have been shutout twice. Here’s hoping Malkin comes back soon for the Penguins sake.
NHL teams losing money – First Phoenix and now Columbus. The Coyotes troubles are well documented and despite the NHL’s best efforts the Coyotes really should really leave Phoenix. However don’t tell that to Commissioner Gary Bettman he doesn’t want to hear it. Now it is being reported that the Columbus Blue Jackets are losing on average 12 million a year.
Phoenix is dead last in attendance this year and has lost about 30 million in some seasons. Of course with team ownership up in the air many fans don’t want to invest money into a team that may not be there. The Coyotes were also near the bottom in attendance last year.
Columbus is 22nd in attendance capacity this year and was 2nd to last two seasons ago. Columbus is the 32nd largest US metro area not the largest by any means and not that smallest either, but only three teams play in front of smaller markets. The Blue Jackets also have to pay 5 million a year to use the arena. So that really doesn’t help their financial situation.
I think the NHL and Bettman really need to think harder before they place teams and try to keep teams in markets. A successful team depends on two things a large market and a large hockey or sports fan market. Phoenix and Atlanta (another money loser) are two top 12 markets, however neither care about hockey. Atlanta in general isn’t much of a sports market. None of their professional team are in the top 50% of attendance and the Atlanta Hawks are usually at the bottom like the Thrashers. Columbus and Carolina are also small markets with skeptical hockey fan bases, though Carolina fares a little better then Columbus, and then there’s Nashville and Florida(Miami).
For the life of me I don’t know why Bettman thought it was a good choice to put teams in some of these locations. I don’t have a problem, unlike most fans, of Bettman moving the teams out of Winnipeg and Hartford. I just question where he decided to move them to and when he decides to keep them there, even when it is a no win situation. For the life of me I can’t comprehend why Seattle and/or Portland, OR does not have a hockey team. Seattle is the 15th largest market and Portland is the 23rd largest. They both have built-in hockey fan bases and Seattle could really create a nice rivalry with Vancouver. They both do fairly well with WHL attendance. I imagine the NHL would do even better.
So who is Antero Niittymaki? He isn’t a name I have heard much before yet he has currently taken over the number 1 goaltending duties from Mike Smith on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Currently he is near the top of the league leaders in GAA and is in the top spot for SV%. Despite being a relative unknown he is actually quite an accomplished goaltender.
From 1995 to 2002 Antero played in SM-liiga, the top professional league in Finland and one of the top leagues in Europe. He started playing in the non-junior SM-liiga in 1999. In 2000 he won the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy for rookie of the year and led the team to their 2nd straight title. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1998 but he didn’t actually play for them or their affiliate until 2002. In 2004 while playing for the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers AHL affiliate, he scored an overtime empty net goal. He is the first goalie in North American history to score an overtime goal. While he was there he set eight Phantoms’ franchise records, including most wins and shutouts.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics, while playing for Finland, he was named league MVP whole guiding Finland to a silver medal. Ironically he was only the starter after Kari Lehtonen and Miikka Kiprusoff pulled out due to injury. Unfortunately his Flyers career, 2005 – 2009, was not as stellar as his Phantoms or international career. He tied the Flyers record for most losses in a season in 2007, and he was often battering injuries. After a brief stint as starting goalie he finished his career as a Flyer as a backup. He left as an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Lightning to backup Mike Smith. After Mike Smiths’ struggles Antero was tapped to start. Off to a fast start he should remain the number one goalie for the foreseeable future. On a team with Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and rising star Steven Stamkos the Lightning hope to make the playoffs for the first time in three years.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
The 5th time these two have squared off. Asham gets knocked down and the refs go in to break it up but Asham gets back up and they continue. They both go down and they both want to get back up and fight some more but the refs stop it this time.
Interesting fight had about 5 punches in a row thrown at the exact same time. Jackman got a bloody nose for his troubles.
Things I like
1. Well Toronto picked up their first home win of the season beating lowly Carolina who, coincidently, doesn’t have a road win, yet.
2. San Jose has only lost 1 game in regulation out of their past 10. They also have an 8 game point streak going, which has helped them take the top spot in the conference.
3. Attendance is doing well in a tough economic year. 16 teams are at 97% capacity or higher. Right in line with the 2006-07 and 2008-09 seasons and better than 2007-08.
Things I don’t
1. The St. Louis Blues have really come back to earth lately. After starting out the season with 2 “road” wins against the Red Wings, the Blues now have lost 5 games in a row. On the plus side, the last 3 games were all overtime losses so they were able to pick up points anyway. Though they did bounce back mauling Vancouver 6-1 last night.
2. Carolina now has the distinction of being the worst team in the league. With Cam Ward possibly being injured for a month, it will be a real long season in Raleigh. They truly are this year’s biggest disappointment.
3. The Pittsburgh Penguins have never faired well with west coast road trips, this year appears to be no different. After narrowly escaping the Ducks, the Penguins lost to the Kings and the Sharks ruining their undefeated road record. They also worsened their record in the Shark Tank to 0-7. The win against Anaheim was only the 2nd road win for the Penguins against a California team in the past decade. All of a sudden Pittsburgh’s undefeated road streak has suffered 3 losses in a row.
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
November 05, 1959Gordie Howe had a goal and an assist to top the 1,000 point mark (including the playoffs) in his 947th career game. It came in an 8-3 loss to the visiting Boston Bruins.
November 05, 1999 Ron Francis picked up an assist to beome the sixth NHL player to score 1,500 NHL points in his NHL career. The milestone came in a 3-2 Hurricanes’ loss at Detroit.
November 05, 1955 Jean Beliveau scored four goals, including 3 during one power play in a span of :44 in the second period. Canadiens won the game, 4-2 over Boston. After the season, the NHL changed the rules to end a minor power play after a goal was scored.
November 05, 1983 Rangers and Nordiques set an NHL record for the fastest two goals at the start of a period by two teams (14 seconds). Andre Savard scored for Quebec at :08 of the 3rd and Pierre Larouche replied for the Rangers at :14. NY tied 4-4 in Quebec City.
November 06, 1995 Rangers Mark Messier scored his 17th career hat trick in the final period to reach the 500 goal mark and added an assist as New York won 4-2 over the Flames, in New York. Messier became the 21st player in the NHL to collect 500 goals.
November 07, 1925 NHL Board of Governors (meeting in Mtl) announced that the league would have a salary limit of $35,000 per team for the 1925-26 season. Expansion teams in Pittsburgh & NY (Rangers) were given exemptions: for 2 years they could spend $45,000 each.
November 09, 2000 Roman Cechmanek became the first goaltender since 1938 to get each of his first two victories as shutouts, in the Flyers 2-0 win against the visiting Edmonton Oilers. He had picked up his first victory (and shutout) five nights earlier.
November 09, 1957 Chicago’s Ted Lindsay scored his 324th career NHL, to tie Nels Stewart as the third highest goal scorer in NHL history, as the Black Hawks won 5-0 over the visiting New York Rangers. Glenn Hall got his 21st career shutout.
November 10, 1963 Detroit’s Gordie Howe became the NHL’s all time leading goal scorer, when he scored #545 to move past Maurice “Rocket” Richard as the Red Wings beat Montreal, 3-0.
November 10, 1934 Canadiens’ Armand Mondou became the first player in NHL history to take a penalty shot. He missed in his attempt against George Hainsworth of Toronto. Three days later Ralph Bowman of St. Louis scored the first penalty shot goal in NHL history.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. San Jose
2. Washington
3. Pittsburgh
4. New Jersey
5. Colorado
Bottom 5
30. Carolina
29. Toronto
28. St. Louis
27. Florida
26. Edmonton
Ducks Watch
The Ducks have now won 2 games in a row coming off their tough loss to the defending champs. They also have collected points in 4 of their last 5 games since their humiliating loss to Toronto. Jonas Hiller recorded his first shutout of the year against Nashville and the offense continued to roll behind two Selanne goals. Hiller followed up that shutout with two more shutout periods entering the 3rd period against Phoenix it looked like he might record two shutouts in a row. The Coyotes had other ideas, however, reeling off 3 unanswered goals. The Ducks were able to hold on for the win. A win is a win no matter how you get it, though I’m sure the Ducks would have liked to have had a better 3rd period.
Monday, November 9th, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
Injuries are all over the NHL; Alex Ovechkin is week-to-week, Evgeni Malkin is day-to-day, Eric Staal is out two-to-four weeks, and now Cam Ward is out three-to-four weeks. So how do you stay afloat with so many big time injuries to top ranked players? My advice is not to panic just imagine how these players will give your team a boost when healthy. Here are some injury quick fixes on the waiver wire to try to plug the big hole.
The 33-year-old center has been more known as a face-off specialist with some goal scoring ability. His career high is 22 total goals with Phoenix and Calgary but he is already on pace to break that with nine goals in 15 games played. Now with the injury to another star, David Booth, Reinprecht is getting some ice time with the sizzling Nathan Horton.
If you are in a league that has shots as a category he has 105 and 95 shots the last two seasons. He could fill in at center for the time being for those who own either Staal or Malkin as he continues his move from a checking center to scoring center
The 28-year-old Torres did score 20 goals in consecutive seasons for the Oilers, but has had a tough time staying healthy with knee surgeries shortening his last two seasons. Now healthy, he has solidified the second scoring line for Columbus with eight goals in 16 games, half of those coming on the man advantage and two of those tallies game winners, only helping his fantasy value.
This is a good filler for an injured star, for he is still an injury risk himself, but being owned in less than 10 percent of leagues pick him up ride the streak until your star returns.
The 2006 Olympic MVP has shown that when asked to play well for a short period of time he can produce. With Mike Smith struggling and Niity leading the league in save percentage (0.940) and third in the league in GAA (1.95) there seems to be a goalie controversy brewing in Tampa. The 29-year-old Finland native has seen time in five straight games and four of those as a starting role, yet is still only owned in 30-percent of leagues.
He is a prime candidate as filler for the injured Ward since his problem has always been consistency, so ride the hot streak. Pick up Frank Niity over the likes of Michael Leighton and recently signed Manny Legace, or go with a guy I have mentioned here before in Ondrej Pavelec who is still only owned in 40 percent in leagues and with the news of back surgery for Kari Lehtonen he will be in the net for an extended period of time.
Monday, November 9th, 2009 Written by:
Eric Sutter
On this Veterans Day, I first want to send a thank you to all those serving to defend our country. There has been some major defending of nets this season, but not the usual suspects. The Top Three in GAA are Canucks Andrew Raycroft, Sabres Ryan Miller, and Lightning Antero Niittymaki, and we can’t forgot how good Craig Anderson has been for the Avalanche. Now let’s delve into the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick, or the Top Three things I am watching for this week.
The Atlantic Division has had four playoff teams for three straight seasons, can they have five this postseason? The defending champion Penguins don’t look like they have a Stanley Cup hangover, and are performing well without Malkin, and Gonchar. The Flyers have finally found a scoring grove as they are near the top of the league in goals per game, and power play percentage.
The Devils are playing Jaques Lemaire hockey, and get back top-scorer Patrik Elias. The Rangers look rejuvenated with Gaborik, Prospal, and the young defensemen, and by the way they still have, Henrik Lundqvist. Watch out for the Islanders also, after a tough start to the season the Youngblood line (Tavares, Okposo, and Moulson) have combined for 32 points in first 16 games. I will be watching this tough division all season, and predict at least four will be playing in the second season.
2.) Hall Opens Up
On Monday, the Hockey Hall of Fame opens the door to five more members. Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, and Steve Yzerman are elected in the player category, and Lou Lamoriello elected in the builders category. A great class for sure, with two pillars of American hockey, all having over 1,000 points, three having over 600-goals, and of course the architect of a dynasty.
Congrats to those players, and their families, and I am looking forward to the debate of the class of 2010, which will involve the controversial discussion of Eric Lindros, and his place in the Hall.
3.) Game of the Week
Roberto Luongo returns: Roberto Luongo is set to return this week from a rib injury, he was slated to come back versus the Blues in the Canucks first game this week Tuesday in St Louis, but the flu has disrupted that plan. Whenever the all-world goalie reappears, it will be a big day for Vancouver. Andre Raycroft has done a solid job with a 4-1 record, a 1.71 GAA ,and 0.935 save percentage in the five games starting in place of Luongo, but the Stanley Cup chances hinge on Bobby Lou being healthy.
Chaos continues for the NHLPA, which is now in search of its third executive director in less than three months—a turnover rate that’s rivaling your local Burger King.
After Paul Kelly was fired on Aug. 31—less than 2 years after taking charge—interim executive director Ian Penny resigned last week along with board members Steve Larmer and Ken Baumgartner. Talk about a dysfunctional unit… I smell a reality show for versus.
With so much instability in the player’s union one has to be worried about another potential lockout when the current collective bargaining agreement expires following the 2010-2011 season. How bad would a work stoppage—whether for one day or one month—be for the NHL? I’m thinking the league would fall behind bull riding and slightly ahead of competitive darts in television ratings. Disaster would be an understatement.
Sharks defenseman Rob Blake, Chris Chelios of the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Bruins right winger Mark Recchi are in charge of finding an interim replacement for the interim guy that didn’t want the job. At this point, are they taking applications through the job openings page on NHL.com?
You look at the four current players trying to pick up the pieces and it’s like playing a game of “one of these things is not like the others.” Here’s an idea: Why doesn’t the 84-year-old Chelios retire from minor league hockey and assume the executive director role himself? Chelios has had the respect of his peers for more years than rookie John Tavares has been alive and could make greater contributions in a leadership role with the NHLPA than he’s made on the ice in the last decade.
Then again, Chelios was the captain and “leader” of the 1998 U.S. Olympic team that reminded us all that it is, in fact, possible to be in your mid-20’s or 30’s and go back to the glory days of preschool by trashing their hotel room in Nagano’s Olympic village. Maybe leading isn’t the calling card for Chelios after all.
The OHL chose to suspend 20-year-old Michael Liambas for the remainder of the regular season and the entire playoffs for this hit on 16-year-old Ben Fanelli: CLICK FOR VIDEO
First and foremost, Fanelli has been moved out of the intensive care unit and regained some bodily movement, though he does have fractures to his skull and face as a result of the collision.
Admittedly, I am not sure if a previous feud existed between Liambas and Fanelli but reports suggest this was just a random play along the boards. If that’s the case I can’t help but think the punishment outweighs the crime.
The reality is that athletes today are bigger, faster and stronger than ever before. Hockey players and football players are beginning to blur the lines between wild animals and freakishly skilled humans. Thus, when collisions occur the results can be more devastating than ever before and until players start wearing astronaut helmets there isn’t enough padding that can prevent serious head injuries.
In hockey, only three things warrant a suspension similar to the one handed down on Liambas—use of any piece of equipment as a weapon (see Marty McSorley), jumping an opponent from behind to start a fight or going Mike Tyson and biting said opponent’s face in said fight.
Liambas didn’t leave his feet and his forearm appears to catch Fanelli in the shoulder more than the head. He could not have known how violently Fanelli would crash into the glass and then onto the ice. Liambas is receiving the penalty for a homicide, when he really only committed a misdemeanor.
It’s far too early for the NHL All-Star game and the Olympic break doesn’t come for another four months, so where did all the games go this week?
Many teams received a nice little vacation after roughly 15 grueling games and there doesn’t appear to be a reason for it other than a schedule-maker that’s trying to make sure players can’t find their rhythm until mid-January.
It makes perfect sense for the league to schedule an absurd number of back-to-back games so that the Olympic break doesn’t force the season into August, but do players really need a four or five day rest after one month? Instead of turning the clocks back an hour maybe the NHL scheduler turned the calendar forward a week—can I get a refund on my NHL Center Ice package for Nov.1-5?
Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robataille and Steve Yzerman enter the Hall of Fame on Monday—that’s 3 of the top-10 goal scorers of all time with 2,101 goals between them. That’s more than double the total goals scored by Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jarome Iginla combined.
Another great job of marketing by the NHL where many fans didn’t realize that arguably the greatest class in history is about to be inducted. Many people may not care but at least give them the option not to care as opposed to being completely oblivious.
If the NHL or NHLPA would like any more suggestions on how to run the greatest game in the world I’d be more than happy to help.
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 Written by:
Alex Mueller
Injuries – When you think of injuries Football is probably the sport with the most serious injuries. You tend to notice when a player gets injured, especially a QB, and most of the injuries are season-enders. It is a physical game. Baseball generally doesn’t have too many injuries; it is more of a finesse game. Basketball not as many either but when they do happen they are more impactful because there are less guys playing on a team then in any other sport. Hockey is the second most physical sport, after football, yet I don’t normally think of to many injuries. Those that do happen generally last for only a few games. One of the more serious injuries, I remember, from last year was when Teemu Selanne was lacerated with his own skate and was out about 6 weeks.
This year though hockey players seem to be dropping like flies. Over 100 players are currently injured in some capacity. There are some big names too. Ilya Kovalchuk, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Eric Staal, Marc Savard, Marian Hossa (though he was injured before the season started), Mike Modano, Johan Franzen, Sheldon Souray, David Booth, Andrei Markov, Jason Arnott, Patrik Elias, Evgeni Malkin, Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin. A more complete list by team can be found here. As you can see these are some big names that are valuable to their team. The biggest to go down, besides Malkin, is Alex Ovechkin. Of course no one will say how severe it is but you have to hope it isn’t for long. (It seems like he might be ready to go this weekend.) Not only will about a million people’s fantasy teams be screwed but because he is one of the NHL’s most talented and marketable stars, it’s a blow to the league as well. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery to all those injured players.
Ryan Miller is an American born hockey player from East Lansing, Michigan. Miller was drafted in the 5th Round, 138th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 NHL Draft. Collegically he played for the Michigan State Spartans where he set an NCAA records for career shutouts with 26. He was the winner of the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top NCAA hockey player, in 2001 when he led the country in wins, winning percentage, save percentage (an NCAA record .950 mark), goals-against average and shutouts (an NCAA record 10).
After a stellar college career, Miller split time between AHL affiliate Rochester Americans and the Sabres from 2002 until 2006. It wasn’t until the 06-07 season that Miller was called up permanently to be the Sabres starting goalie. Miller started playing for the Sabres 2 seasons after Dominik Hasek, arguably one of the top Sabres goalies of all time, had left them. Hasek also retired for the first time in Miller’s first season of being called up.
Since be named the number starter in 2006 Miller has put up decent numbers. Last year he finally blossomed into one of the NHL’s top goalies. He posted his career best numbers in GAA, SV%, and shutouts. The Sabres narrowly missed the playoffs last year, though that can be contributed to Miller being injured for a stretch. This year he is off to another fast start in the top 3 for GAA and SV% and the Sabres playoff chances once again rest on his shoulders.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Slim pickings in good fights this week, so these fights are nominated for other reasons.
Sidney got in a fight, I’m sure you all wanted to see it. It’s funny how desperate the refs were in trying to stop the fight before it started and then after it did.
Wisniewski cleans Doan’s clock with a vicious and dirty hit, Yandle comes over to avenge Doan. The hit is better then the fight. Wisniewski was suspended two games for the hit.
Here is Doan avenging himself. Fight was pretty even and nothing special. At least Doan did a better job avenging himself then Yandle did.
Goat or Trick Shot of the Week
I couldn’t find anything worth mentioning this week.
Things I like
1. Steve Stamkos is really coming into his own in his 2nd year. High expectations for last years number 1 overall pick; Stamkos is currently leading his team in points and leading all forwards on the team in Plus Minus. He also has a six game goal scoring streak going, tops in the NHL this season.
2. I honestly feel that this will be the most wide open NHL race in quite some time. Now it wouldn’t surprise me if the Penguins end up in the Finals again, and it’s probably likely, but who else makes the playoffs and how far they go should be quite interesting. I know we are in for some surprises and I’m pretty sure that the most of the bottom spots 6-8 will come down to the last week of the season.
3. Colorado is a perfect 4-0 at home, on the road not so much but they are a respectable 6-3-2. They have however lost 2 games in a row, so it will be interesting how they play in their next game. Now 3 losses in row isn’t the end of the world but for a team that wasn’t expected to do anything, you hate to see them start on a downward spiral.
Things I don’t
1. Toronto may have a win, but they still don’t have a win at home. At least Phil Kessel is back, maybe that will help. The epic Toronto vs. Carolina game is this Friday Nov. 6th, be there.
2. Steve Mason is not following up his rookie of the year award with stellar play. He is currently in the bottom 5 of GAA and SV% yikes. Columbus still has a somewhat decent record, despite this. They are however the only team above .500 that has allowed more goals then they have scored.
3. The sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to the NHL. Not enough room to get into it here, but I don’t think this was the right move.
This Week in Hockey History
October 29, 1949 Harry Lumley became the first goaltender to record 20 shutouts as a member of the Red Wings as Detroit won 1-0 win over the Canadiens at Montreal. The winning goal was scored by rookie winger Steve Black.
October 29, 2003 Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux became the 6th player in NHL history to reach 1,700 career points (and the second-fastest, after Gretzky) with an assist in a 4-4 tie against the visiting New York Islanders.
October 30, 1943 Montreal’s Bill Durnan signed his first NHL contract and made his NHL debut in a 2-2 tie against the Bruins, in the Habs’ season opener in Montreal. It was the start of an NHL-record 14 game unbeaten streak (12-0-2) for the rookie goalie.
October 30, 1971 Fred Glover became the 1st man in NHL history to coach 2 NHL teams in one season, when he was named coach of the L.A. Kings just 12 days after being fired by the Oakland Seals. He lost in his Kings’ debut, 5-1 to the visiting Chicago Black Hawks.
October 30, 1943 Toronto Maple Leafs Gus Bodnar set an NHL record for fastest goal by a rookie in his first game, by scoring just 15 seconds into his NHL debut. He later added another goal and an assist as the Leafs beat the Rangers 5-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
October 30, 1998Pittsburgh Penguins set an NHL record by scoring their 9th and 10th consecutive power play goals in a 2-2 tie against Vancouver. They broke the record of 8 straight power play goals scored by Buffalo in 1991-92.
November 01, 1945 Gordie Howe (at age 16) signed his first professional hockey contract, with the Omaha Knights of the United States Hockey League.
November 01, 1924 Boston Bruins became the first U.S. team to join the NHL when they (and the Montreal Maroons) officially received their NHL franchises.
November 03, 1987 Marcel Dionne became just the second player in NHL history to score 1,700 career NHL points, when he scored a goal for the New York Rangers in a 5-3 loss at Calgary.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. Pittsburgh
2. Colorado
3. San Jose
4. Washington
5. Buffalo
Bottom 5
30. Toronto
29. Carolina
28. Florida
27. St. Louis
26. Minnesota
Ducks Watch
The Ducks snapped their 4 game losing streak with a sound thumping of the Canucks 7-2. After falling behind 0-2 the Ducks reeled off 7 unanswered goals. Proving that they are better then they have played and that they still have a potent offense. Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan each contributed 2 goals. The Ducks followed up with a tough shutout loss to the Coyotes in Phoenix. Even though they lost they were still able to pick up a point. My Stanley Cup Finals prediction was Pittsburgh vs. Anaheim and if that happens, there’s a chance, it won’t disappoint judging by their regular season encounter Tuesday. A very entertaining match up that was well played by both sides. Anaheim didn’t get any points but the still walked out a winner in my book, only losing by a goal. Corey Perry is on a tear recently and had another 2 goals. Overall their level of play has improved tremendously.
Not only are they emerging as a legitimate cup contender but this might be the best coaching job of 
Then again, Chelios was the captain and “leader” of the 1998 U.S. 
