The 2011 Stanley Cup Final is a little different than most because it features a chance for a Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. Most pundits thought the Canucks felt this pressure since before the puck dropped. They were the strongest of all of the Canadian teams in the league this season. Both teams faced similar paths in getting here. Both were trying to exercise past playoff disappointments (Blackhawks and Flyers), both had to win a 7^th game at home (Canadiens, Blackhawks, Lightning) to advanced and both had to dispatch their arch rivals in a series to advanced (Canadiens and Blackhawks). Actually it’s quite unique that both teams beat their rivals in the 1^st round at home in a 7^th game overtime. Talk about destiny.

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 3 Boston Bruins

Season Series: 1-0 Bruins

Playoff Series History: Never

Season Goal Differential: Boston +51, Vancouver +77 Both therefore make the superstitious cut-off (+25) for being a champion in the modern era.

What We Learned: Boston and Vancouver can play some great inspired hockey when needed. They both have resilient goalies that bounce back when needed.

Stars to Watch: Well when you get to the Finals both teams have a handful of stars to watch but I will pick one from each side. We all saw how well the Sedins played against the Sharks, which is a good thing since they had disappeared for a bit. But the Canucks heart and soul is Ryan Kesler. Kesler took a slight step backward against the Sharks and also got a little banged up. He will need to continue to grind, do the dirty work and be a force in front of the net for the Canucks to win. On the Bruins side it’s all about Nathan Horton. The Bruins haven’t lost a single game when Horton has scored a goal. They have only lost once in a playoff game when Horton produced at least 1 point. As Horton goes so do the Bruins. The Bruins top line might go against the Sedin line a lot, so it’s important they aren’t playing defense most of the time. Otherwise it coul dbe bad news for the Bruins.

X-Factor: Did somebody say Manny Malhotra? After sustaining a horrible eye Injury in March, Malhotra looks cleared to play. Besides being a defensive and face-off ace, Malhotra can also produce some points. Don’t forget the emotional lift teammates will have when they see him step onto the ice. The return of Malhotra may just tip things in the Canucks favor. But there’s still a chance he won’t go. For the Bruins their x-factor is the young Tyler Seguin. Seguin started out strong in his first two playoff games but didn’t produce any points in the next five. But he still played well even without any points. He has a minus in only one game. Seguin will need to produce again to counter the deep Canucks team.

Goalie Problem: Roberto Luongo vs Tim Thomas, again. You should remember that this two were both the back-up goalies for Team Canada and Team USA in the Olympics. Luongo ended up being the starter and Thomas didn’t really play at all. But it further adds to the similarity and continuity of the team’s paths. Both goalies are also Vezina finalists, just in case you didn’t know they were good. Both are more known for strong regular seasons and no so stellar playoff seasons. However, both have played real well this postseason. They both also have a pair of shutouts and twelve wins a piece. You might have noticed that the goalies are just as mirrored as the teams are. So who has the edge? Well despite the immense pressure, Luongo has persevered and hasn’t had a bad game since moving past the Blackhawks. I’d still give the slight edge to Thomas though. Thomas still tends to overplay shots and scoring chances. If he continues to do that, Vancouver will make him pay.

Fun Fact: The Canucks won their first series in 7, the 2^nd in 6 and the 3^rd in 5. Would they win this round in a sweep? It would follow the pattern but it’s extremely unlikely.

Prediction: This should be a dandy of a series. Great goaltending, great depth, great defense, good hitting and long cup droughts. Hockey fans have been fortunate to witness some great Stanley Cup Finals the past few seasons. I view the Bruins as more of blue collar underdogs with a slightly harder to path to get here. While the Canucks are the more glamorous record setting team. I know the Canucks did not have an easy path to the Cup and they also boast blue collar players but it’s just what it looks like to me. The Canucks are having what you may call a magical year. The only thing they need now, to cap it off, is to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup. Vancouver has already seen magic in the building with Team Canada’s Olympic win and the fact that Luongo was their goalie. This Finals will serve as an encore with the same results. I see the Canucks winning in seven and finally getting that monkey off of Canada’s back. Of course the Canucks are led by two Swedes and an American but who’s keeping track.

1 Washington Capitals vs. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Season Series: 4-2 Capitals

Playoff Series History: 1-0 Lightning. The only meeting was in the 1st round in 2003.

What We Learned: Being eliminated early can be a good lesson, ask the Capitals.

Star to Watch: Steven Stamkos played well in Gamer 5 and that was about it. He will definitely need to elevate his game in order for the Lightning to have a chance. He hasn’t played exceptionally well against the Capitals this season, scoring just 3 points in 6 games.

X-Factor: Mike Green should be returning from his injury in Game 1. He played fairly well against the Rangers erasing much of his poor play last year against the Canadiens. He will need to grind it out with Gagne, Downie and St Louis. How he plays against them could tip the series.

Goalie Problem: The 42 year old Roloson has played much better than anyone probably thought he would. I know I was skeptical. You have to wonder how much longer he can keep his high level of play going. He is tops in playoff SV% and 2nd in GAA for those goalies that started more than two 2 games. On the other end Michael Neuvirth has played well for the Capitals. He actually leads the league in GAA for those playoff goalies that started more than two games. I thought they would go with Varlamov but unless he struggles, that doesn’t appear like it will happen.

Fun Fact: This is only the 2nd time Southeast rivals have met in a playoff series. The 1st time being when these two teams met in 2003.

Prediction: The Capitals new defensive system, and their previous playoff lessons they have learned, should do them wonders in this series. The Lightning had a tough series with the Penguins and I don’t think they are ready to go to the next level yet. The Capitals should win in around 6 games.

2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 3 Boston Bruins

Season Series: 3-1 Bruins, their only loss in OT

Playoff Series History: 3-2 Flyers. Everyone knows what happens last year with the Flyers being the 4th team in NHL history to come back from a 0-3 series deficit.

What We Learned: Three goalies are better than one

Star to Watch: Nathan Horton is playing in his 1st ever postseason. He only scored two goals but the two goals were pretty important including the Game 7 winger. At certain times he was a non-factor and he let his emotions get the best of him. How will need to be even more effective in this series as will the whole Bruins’ top line.

X-Factor: Will Chris Pronger continue to see his minutes rise? Pronger is obviously a dominating defensive force and an asset on the back-end for the power play. It seems likely he will hit the 20 minute mark in Game 1 of this series but one never knows. The Flyers will need him healthy and effective to contain the Bruins depth.

Goalie Problem: Well it looks like Boucher will probably be the goalie for the Flyers for the rest of the way. Of course that doesn’t really guarantee anything but it’s unlikely the Flyers will take the goalie carousel for a spin again. Other than 1 start against Buffalo, he has played fairly well. On the other side Tim Thomas hasn’t always been sharp at times but other times he has played really well. How well he plays will probably tip the series. My personal opinion is Thomas tends to overplay shots. He needs to scale that back.

Fun Fact: The Bruins are the first team to win a series despite not scoring a goal on the power play (0-33).

Prediction: Tough one to predict but I will have to go with Boston. Why you ask? Well mostly the theme of this year’s playoffs is redemption. Boston is looking to get revenge for last year’s collapse against the Flyers. Plus something about the Flyers just seems off to me. They had way more problems eliminating the Sabres then they should have. Being without Jeff Carter also doesn’t help. Bruins in 7.

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 5 Nashville Predators

Season Series: 2-2 split

Playoff Series History: None

What We Learned: The Canucks have heart and Luongo can play well when needed.

Star to Watch: Well that’s simple the Sedin Twins. They started off real well and then they had a combined -13 in the last four games. Clearly that won’t work in the next few rounds. Now that the Blackhawks have finally been passed, perhaps the Sedins can rework their magic that has proven to be so successful in the past.

X-Factor: The Predators had 7 players score two or more goals in the 1st round. Can they get that kind of scoring depth against the number 1 defensive team in the regular season?

Goalie Problem: Luongo passed a major hurdle by beating the Blackhawks and quite frankly I think the Olympic Gold medal win gave him a lot more confidence. As long as he doesn’t have bodies in front of him, blocking his view, he can play pretty good. Pekka Rinne had a phenomenal regular season but not so much in the 1st round against the Ducks. Of course playing against all of that Duck’s top talent isn’t easy. Then again the Canucks are almost as talented upfront, so it won’t get any easier.

Fun Fact: Mike Fisher had played in 75 playoff games before this season. More than the whole Predators starting five combined.

Prediction: This should be a hard hitting affair. Both teams hit well in the 1st round. The experience edge in this series clearly goes to the Canucks. I really don’t think you can stop the Canucks after their big series win against Chicago. Canucks in 5.

2 San Jose Sharks vs. 3 Detroit Red Wings

Season Series: 3-1 Sharks

Playoff Series History: 2-2 split. The Sharks won the match-up last season in this round.

What We Learned: Joe Thornton can actually score important goals.

Star to Watch: Joe Pavelski had three goals in the 1st round but it just didn’t seem like he did. Mr. Playoffs last year will need to step up his game. This season in four games against Detroit he didn’t score a goal. Zetterberg hasn’t played in three weeks for the Wings but he should be back in this series. They will need him and for his ankle to be at 100%.

X-Factor: Whose hungrier? These are two teams that have been their done that. Last year was kind of disappointing for the Red Wings as they struggled in the 1st round and basically got annihilated in the 2nd round by these Sharks. The Sharks advanced past the 2nd round finally but didn’t go as far as they wanted to. The team that wants it more will get it.

Goalie Problem: Antti Niemi had a few decent games and a few brutal ones against the Kings. However, he has played fairly well (1.97GAA, .932SV%) against the Wings as a Hawk and Shark. Jimmy Howard wasn’t tested much against the Coyotes but the Sharks average a high number of shots a game, just ask Quick. It will be interesting to see how he reacts.

Fun Fact: These two teams were 1st and 2nd in shots on goals in the regular season so expect that to continue. They were also 2nd and 3rd in face-off percentage.

Prediction: This will be a tough and more even series than last season. It should also be pretty high scoring. Expect it to go the distance but for the Sharks to prevail in Game 7.

If you are curious last year I predicted:

“As for Stanley Cup Final prediction I say Washington/Pittsburgh winner against Chicago. I’m not sure who I would pick and I know it’s a cop out not to pick a winner and not to pick between Pittsburgh and Washington but it really depends on how the goaltending for Washington and Chicago fair in order to pick. Part of me wants Chicago to lose in the finals so that Marion Hossa can be on the losing side three years in a row. The hilarity that would ensue for everyone but him, I know Schadenfreude, I’m a bad person.”

1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 New York Rangers

Season Series: 3-1 Rangers

Playoff Series History: 3-2 Capitals

Star to Watch: Alexander Semin, again, because he mustered up a whopping zero goals last year in seven games. If the Capitals hope to go anywhere, he needs to produce something. Marion Gaborik on the other hand has had a fairly disappointing season. He has sometimes been hot but he has also been cold. With Callahan gone, Gaborik will need to step it up.

X-Factor: Deja Vu? The Capitals never make things easy for themselves in the playoffs. In fact their last 4 playoffs series have gone 7 games each. Everyone remembers last season’s collapse. They also went the distance against the Rangers two years ago. How they prepare mentally for this series will determine how far they go.

Goalie Problem: The Capitals said they plan on rotating between Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. Sound familiar? It should. Last season they planned on rotating between Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov. I think they really ought to go with Varlamov. He had slightly better numbers and he has more experience. As for the Rangers will it’s not a problem when you have Lundqvist and his league leading 11 shutouts.

Fun Fact: The Rangers actually scored more goals than the Capitals, if you can believe it, and they had a better goal differential.

Prediction: The Rangers are just lucky to be in the playoffs this year, of course last year they were just as unlucky to not make it; losing in the shootout in the final game of the season. Washington has tried a new defensive approach this season. While it didn’t seem to be working at certain stretches, the Capitals found themselves back as the top seed. I think the Capitals have found the right balance of what works. Capitals in five or six.

2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. 7 Buffalo Sabres

Season Series: tied 2-2

Playoff Series History: 5-3 Flyers

Star to Watch: Thomas Vanek because he is the Sabres most potent offensive threat. He is also a streaky player and is currently fairly hot. He will need to produce for the Sabres to have a chance. The postseason means it’s Danny Briere time. Watch for him to blow your mind a few times.

X-Factor: Can you say different directions? The Sabres went on a tear down the stretch to make the playoffs and where arguably the hottest team the last month. The Flyers went in the opposite direction… off a cliff and almost cost themselves the division crown. This series will truly dictate if momentum matters.

Goalie Problem: The Flyers goalie situation reminds of a lot of last years, very cloudy. A lot of options but no real good one. They will probably trot out their three headed monster clearly not what they had in mind and a stark contrast from earlier in the the year when Bobrovsky looked to be the guy. What the goaltending produces will determine the Flyers fate. I think it will be either Leighton or Boucher between the pipes. The Sabres counter with Ryan Miller. You might have heard of him. He should be 100% recovered for the series.

Fun Fact: Neither team had any player score over 80 points. They each had only one score over 70 points. Nothing new at all for the Sabres but kind of surprising for the Flyers.

Prediction: Despite the momentum being in the Sabres favor, I’m going to have to go with the Flyers. Though the Sabres clearly have the goaltending advantage, making me somewhat regret my decision. I think the Flyers overwhelming experience advantage will help. Flyers in seven.

3 Boston Bruins vs. 6 Montreal Canadiens

Season Series: Montreal 4-2

Playoff Series History: These teams have never met in the playoffs… jk . 24-8 Montreal. They last met two seasons ago when the Bruins swept them in the 1st round.

Star to Watch: Michael Cammalleri had a down season after an exceptional postseason. How will he do this year. Also the legend of P.K Subban was born last postseason. He has been brilliant at times this season and also played so poorly he was benched. How will he handle himself? He tends to let his emotions get the best of him.

X-Factor: I think these two teams might not like each other. The media in Montreal I’m sure will be at a fevered pitch. While the Canadiens took the season series, they came up flat in their “revenge” game. It should be interesting to see how each team controls their emotions.

Goalie Problem: The Bruins boast the best goalie duo and Tim Thomas should wrap up the Vezina this season. I see no reason why Thomas won’t continue his exceptional level of play. Although Thomas has actually posted some of his worst numbers against the Canadiens this year (3.22 GAA, .907 SV%). As for the Habs well lets just say that Carey Price has some big shoes to fill, as if he needed any additional pressure (See Halak circa last year). I seriously hope that if the Habs lose he plays well, so that he might be spared.

Fun Fact: This is actually the most played match-up between two teams in the NHL. The Bruins had 12 players score 10 goals or more, tops in the league. Both teams are tied for last in winning games after trailing in the 1st period.

Prediction: Really tough to say but I think it’s Boston’s turn to have the kind of run the Canadiens had last year. I think the Bruins just have a better all around team. Plus the Bruins have something to prove after being embarrassed in last year’s playoffs. Bruins in 7.

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Season Series: tied 2-2

Playoff History: Zilch

Star to Watch: I’m going to have to say Tyler Kennedy and Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is making his first playoff appearance. He was also pretty cold in the last month of the season. It will be interesting to see how performs. With no Malkin or Crosby, Kennedy has taken advantage of his opportunity and he had a breakout year. He will need to continue to carry the Pens offensive load with Jordan Staal. Those two will need to step up their game for the Pens to advance.

X-Factor: There’s a guy named Sidney Crosby that may or may not play. If he does play, advantage Pittsburgh. Of course there’s always the question of how will he play if he does come back? I think he probably won’t play until the 2nd round if the Pens advance. Strange how he lead the team in scoring when he only played half the season.

Goalie Problem: Mac-Andre Fleury proved me wrong and had a great season. He usually posts worse numbers in the playoffs but he finds a way to win tthe big games, except of course in Game 7 last year against the Canadiens. I’m really not sold on Dwayne Roloson being a playoff caliber goalie but apparently the Lightning are. He has only been to the postseason three previous times. The last time was five years ago with the Sabres.

Fun Fact: The Penguins have no wins when trailing after two periods, with a 0-19-1 record this season. The Penguins led the league in hits and the Lightning had the 2nd fewest.

Prediction: I have to give the edge to Pittsburgh in what should be a widely entertaining series. It could go either way really. But I can’t help but feel that the Penguins didn’t overcome all of those injuries and almost get 2nd place to lose in the 1st round. It just wouldn’t seem right. Penguins in seven.

1 Vancouver Canucks vs. 8 Chicago Blackhawks

Season Series: tied 2-2

Playoff Series History: 3-1 Blackhawks, including the last two seasons in which the Hawks bounced the Canucks in the 2nd round both times

Star to Watch: Toews and Kane had great long playoff runs last season. The question is what will they do for an encore? They find themselves in new territory in being the hunted as opposed to the hunter.

X-Factor: Dustin Byfuglien…. wait what? He isn’t on the Blackhawks anymore. That’s precisely the problem. The Blackhawks will find out exactly why they needed to keep him in this series. He was able to effectively get in Luongo’s head and knock him off his game. The Blackhawks don’t have anyone to do that anymore.

Goalie Problem: Both of these teams feature goalies that have something to prove. Luongo has to prove that he can actually deliver in the postseason. Having great regular seasons, he is coming off arguably his best season ever, is nice but it really only matters what you do in the playoffs. Crawford, while just a rookie, will be under some pressure to duplicate Niemi’s success who Chicago let go. The front office will probably get a lot of slack if the Hawks don’t do well in the playoffs and rightfully so.

Fun Fact: The Sedins are the first brother combo to win the Art Ross trophy back to back. They may also add the Hart trophy to that list. Speaking of back to backs, the Blackhawks hope to do what no other 8th seed has ever done, win the Stanley Cup.

Prediction: Truly one of the more compelling series because of the Hawks just making the playoffs and trying to defend their cup. Through in their recent history and the Sedins claiming more hardware and you have watch should be an awesome match-up. This is the year the Canucks revenge their past losses against the Blackhawks. It will be made all the more sweeter because they are knocking out the defending champions in the 1st round. Canucks in six. (Just to stick it to Chelsea Dagger)

2 San Jose Sharks vs. 7 Los Angeles Kings

Season Series: tied 3-3

Playoff Series History: Zilch

Star to Watch: Drew Doughty was simply sensational against the Canucks last postseason but he had a pretty average regular season. He will need to regain his form to help shut down the Sharks top line. Dustin Penner is also on the watch list for the sheer fact that he needs to do something.

X-Factor: The injury bug rears its ugly head. I can’t help but think that the Kings would be slightly higher if it wasn’t for all their injuries down the stretch. But such is life. Losing your top two scorers is never easy but the Penguins have been able to deal with it, so now it’s the Kings turn. Justin Williams should be coming back to play in the 1st round though. Getting by without Kopitar won’t be easy however.

Goalie Problem: Antti Niemi is back in the postseason just wearing a different jersey. He has turned out to be a great pickup and was red hot down the stretch. He will now use his experience to further propel the Sharks. On the flip-side Jonathan Quick will need to rebound from a fairly poor playoff performance last year. He should be more comfortable having a postseason under his belt.

Fun Fact: The Sharks are playing their 7th different team in as many series. In fact the Sharks have now played every team in the playoffs in the West except for the Wild, Canucks and Blue Jackets.

Prediction: The Sharks top line produced less that last year and in the postseason they don’t always produce at their best. The Sharks are a deep experienced team though, that has seven players with at least 20 goals. The Kings are still getting their feet acclimated to the post season and I don’t think they are mentally where they need to be. Still it should make for an interesting series. Sharks in six or seven.

3 Detroit Red Wings vs. 6 Phoenix Coyotes

Season Series: tied 2-2

Playoff Series History: 2-0 Detroit

Star to Watch: With Zetterberg out it will be Datsyuk’s job to carry the Wings scoring load. He will be matched up with Norris trophy candidate Keith Yandle.

X-Factor: Probably how the Coyotes as a group handle themselves mentally. Here’s a team that rarely makes the playoffs and now they find themselves in on back to back trips. They are also seeking revenge against the team that knocked them out of a hard fought series last postseason. They also might be moving, again.

Goalie Problem: Jimmy Howard now has a year of playoff experience under his belt and Ilya Bryzgalov now has three. Bryzgalov didn’t play all that well last year and he will need to play better for the Coyotes to have a chance. Howard had a down year this year and will need to pick up his game as well.

Fun Fact: Detroit has been to the playoffs the past twenty seasons and 56 times (not including their days as Cougers or Flacons) and Phoenix now seven times including two in a row. The Coyotes have never made it to the 2nd round. I think the Red Wings may have made it out… a few times.

Prediction: This is a match-up between two of the lower hitting teams in the league. I think we will have a repeat of last season, a close wild affair that goes the distance. The Red Wings are all a year older and that isn’t something working in their favor but I think they will prevail anyway. Red Wings in seven.

4 Anaheim Ducks vs. 5 Nashville Predators

Season Series: Nashville 3-1

Playoff Series History: Zilch

Star to Watch: Teemu Selanne has generally been lukewarm at best in the playoffs. This possibly being his last season, again, it will be interesting to see how he plays. The Ducks will need to have the 2nd line continuing to score and Selanne was hot down the stretch.

X-Factor: It will be interesting to watch Shea Weber battle against quick wingers in Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry. This battle will go a long way in determining who wins the series. The Ducks’ playoff experience also outweighs the Predators’ by a considerable margin.

Goalie Problem: Pekka Rinne was probably the best kept goalie secret of the season. If it wasn’t for Tim Thomas he would have gotten more recognition but since he played in Nashville probably not. He should get a Vezina nod for his production. On the other side Jonas Hiller was having one of his best seasons before he got vertigo and well that’s been pretty much it. The Ducks have relied on pickups of Dan Ellis and Ray Emery to backstop them this far. Ellis will probably get the bulk of the load with Emery still recovering from his injury. Ellis has only been in the playoffs one other time as a member of the Predators. He was on their team for a few other postseason appearances but he never played in any of those games.

Fun Fact: The Ducks have the 2nd best power play and the Predators have the 5th worst. The Ducks have the 5th most penalty minutes and the Predators have the 2nd fewest. Both of these teams are tied for 4th in wins when leading after the 1st.

Prediction: The Predators are 0-5 in getting out of the 1st round and I don’t see that changing. The Ducks are red hot and they are loaded with prime time players that excel in the playoffs. Still I think it’s likely all the home teams will win. Ducks in seven.

My Stanley Cup prediction is Washington over Vancouver. Washington will probably play Boston in the conference finals and assuming Vancouver can beat Chicago, I really only see San Jose and Anaheim as threats. It’s highly unlikely it will be 1 vs 1 but you never know.

In the last 20+ years, we have never had a Stanley Cup winner with less than a +25 goal differential in the regular season. The Penguins win over the Red Wings in 2009 was the lowest of the 20 years with a +25. How about the loser? Well for the losers there have been various goal differentials. For the most part they’ve all had a positive goal differential too. There are three exceptions. Carolina in 01-02 lost to Detroit and had a 217/217 GF/GA. In 92-93 Los Angeles lost to Montreal with a negative differential 338/340 GF/GA. The Kings gave up a lot of goals that year, only three teams gave up more goals than them that season. In 90-91 the Minnesota North Stars (remember them) had a negative 10 differential 256/266 GF/GA and a 27-39-14 record (yikes!). Of course that year there were only 10 teams in the West so all but two teams got in the playoffs.

Last year I wrote “So that means if we cut out the bubbles teams, though there are still five to seven games left so a lot could change, your Stanley Cup Champions will either be Washington, Buffalo, Vancouver, Chicago or San Jose.” and what do you know Chicago won the cup. They had a +62 while their Stanley Cup opponent, the Flyers, had a +11. Naturally it was a foregone conclusion that the Blackhawks would win.

This year I don’t see why the pattern won’t hold true again. So sorry any team with a less than a +25 goal differential, you won’t be winning the Stanley Cup this year. In the East we have Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston and surprisingly the Rangers. A stark contrast from last year when the East only had two teams with a +25 goal differential.

In the West we have Vancouver, San Jose, Chicago and the umm Predators. Hmmmm aren’t those the same three teams (minus the Predators) as last year in the West? Surprising, when you consider where Chicago is standingwise. Los Angeles has a chance to get to the +25 mark but it probably won’t happen.

I can’t see the Rangers winning it all, if they actually get in which now doesn’t seem likely, and for some reason I can’t see Philadelphia having the same run. The Flyers don’t have the goaltending and they are really moving in the wrong direction at the wrong time. Washington, Pittsburgh and Boston are your best bets in the East. Out West I really don’t like any of the teams. Sure Vancouver is by far having the best year but considering their past luck, I can’t really see them winning it all. Same with San Jose. It’s hard to look past all of those other dismal playoff performances and think that for some reason it will be different this year. On the other hand, the Sharks do have a much needed upgrade in goal with Niemi and you can’t really argue with the Canucks dominance. I think that one of three above mentioned Eastern teams will knock out the West this year in the Stanley Cup Finals. No I didn’t even mention the Predators because I mean come on.

So how did I do with my predictions from the beginning of the season?

Stanley Cup Finals

Pittsburgh over San Jose

I got all but two right in the East and all but two right in the West (assuming the Blackhawks win or the Stars lose). Not sure I’d keep those conference finals now but who knows. I’m still puzzled on how Nashville keeps making the playoffs every year and to a lesser extent Buffalo. I’m pretty sure the Predators will get knocked out of the playoffs in the 1^st round (again) and no one will care (again). Sorry if I offended the 5 Predator fans throughout this article.

Stay tuned for my mini 1^st round playoff preview which will be up in a few days.

After a fight filled week of Bruins-Canadiens, Islanders-Penguins and Wild-Blues, suspensions, tempers and emotions are running at a high in the NHL. Even one of the greats of the league is not happy at what is happening around the league.

Penguin’s owner Mario Lemieux was outspoken about the leagues handling of the big Penguins-Islanders brawl and even hinted he would want “out” if the league continued in this manner.

So in the spirit of love being all around, except in the NHL, let’s give out some Valentine’s in this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick.

THE NHL TO ITS TEAMS:

I can understand Super Mario’s frustration as his team continues to struggle and loss some more players due to injury in the big melee with the Islanders. I can also see how the NHL has tried to send a message to organizations and teams that this kind of behavior is not going to be tolerated.

The NHL player is bigger, faster and stronger with the respect between players seems to disappear. The NHL needs to send a Valentine to all of its teams saying the following:

Dear My Precious Teams of the NHL,

Times have been tough for us these past few days.

We have seen fights, anger and melees.

But please remember we are a sum of our parts

And what we decide comes from our hearts

BRUINS TO TIM THOMAS:

Tim Thomas has been one of the best stories of the NHL this season.

The former Vezina Trophy winner was an afterthought as it had seemed the future was now for Tuukka Rask. Then came eight straight victories to start out the season and his seven shutouts, which is already a career-high.

Now, the 36 year old netminder is making believers out of his doubters as the Bruins sit atop the Northeast Division.

The Bruins need to send a Valentine to their MVP that would go like this:

Dear Tim the Tank,

You have been our knight in shining armor

With the media you are such a charmer

On a nightly basis you stand on your head

Without you our chances for a division crown would be dead.

GAME OF THE WEEK:

For the last Valentine, it is for the viewers of the NHL. NBC is set to broadcast Hockey Day in America on Sunday with the following matchups: Flyers vs Rangers, Capitals vs Sabres, Penguins vs Blackhawks and Red Wings vs Wild.

That same afternoon the NHL Heritage Classic between the Canadiens and Flames will be played at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

This will be a great day for hockey fans to just sit down and relax and enjoy an excited day in hockey.

With that all said, the game of the week happens earlier on Tuesday when the top two teams of the Eastern Conference square off.

The Lightning are currently on a ridiculous 11-game home stand and with a 5-2 record, thus far have proven they are going to be a team to beat in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers are the team rights ahead of them in the standings are 13-3 since the calendar flipped to 2011.

One of those losses was to the Lightning on February 1st; in fact, the Flyers are 0-3 vs the Ning this season. This game will go a long way if these two teams square off in the playoffs.

For the Lightning, it will be a mentality of sweeping the season series and for the Flyers, one that reminds them they can beat this team.

Historic Franchises

The two teams that are matched up in Super Bowl XLV have combined for 18 NFL Championships and 11 Super Bowl appearances.  With that in mind for the NHL, the Stanley Cup Final this season would match up Montreal vs Detroit.  The Canadiens have made the Stanley Cup Final 34 times, winning 24 of them, although Les Habitants last made the Cup in 1993 when Patrick Roy took down Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings.

The Western Conference representative Red Wings have made 24 appearances in the Cup Final, winning 11 of them.  Red Wings fans, unlike the Canadiens fans, have not had to wait patiently for a Final, as they made back-to-back appearances in 2008 and 2009.  Although in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys tied with Pittsburgh with eight Super Bowl appearances.  You get the idea of two historic franchises with tons of winning history squaring off to decide the ultimate championship.

Challenge on the Play

In 1999, the NFL changed their instant replay rules allowing coaches to “challenge” a call on the field. The NHL is getting close to allowing replays as well.  On Friday night two close off-side calls resulted in two big goals as both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks scored goals that on further review should have been called off-sides.

This has seemed to be a weekly, if not daily, occurrence in the NHL.  The game is faster and television coverage has improved—why not use these to your advantage to make the game better?  The GM’s rejected a Dale Tallon proposal back in November, but when they reconvene in March, they should take time out of talking head shots and discuss this much needed rule change.

Game of the Week

The NHL on NBC has returned and in the spirit of the flexible schedule that is given to NFL on NBC, the game I would flex this week would be the Boston Bruins vs the Montreal Canadiens.  With all due respect with the games that NBC chose for their Sunday lineup this week (Bruins vs Red Wings), this Northeast Division rivalry will be more fun to watch.

The 708 lifetime games between these teams are the second most of any two NHL opponents.  They come in second only to Detroit and Chicago, with their original six matchup games of over 712.  This season the series has been lopsided, with the Canadiens winning the first three matchups.  All three matchups have been close, as the Canadiens have outscored the Bruins by the combined score of 10-6, including a miracle overtime comeback victory in their last matchup on January 8th.  I expect fireworks in this matchup of division foes so close in the standings.

The unofficial second half of hockey begins on Tuesday night with 13 games. First before we look ahead in this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick, let’s look back at the first half and hand out some hardware. In the ever tight race for first half MVP it came down to three players in my opinion.The sharp shooting Steve Stamkos, all-around superstar Sidney Crosby and goaltender Tim Thomas.

First, I ruled out the Bruins goaltender, mostly because he is my pick for goalie of the first half, and wanted to spread out my awards.

Then I ruled out Stamkos only for the fact that his season can also be pointed to the fact that his line mate Martin St. Louis is also having a superb season thus taking some of my personal votes away for the player currently leading the league in both goals (38) and points (67). So my first half MVP is none other than Sidney Crosby. Let’s not forget that before Sid the Kid missed the last nine games due to a concussion he had a  25-game point streak, the longest in the NHL in 18 years. The center still sits second to Stamkos in both goals (32) and points (66) and his second in command Evgeni Malkin is having a down year statistically.

I have already named my goalie of the first half. Tim Thomas, the player responsible for the Bruins lead in the Northeast Division and current leader in both save percentage (.945) and goals against average (1.81), was an easy choice.

My defense-man of the first half was probable the hardest decision as not one candidate has been outstanding in every category that determines what makes a defense-man above the rest. I went with the former forward/defenseman/forward/back to defense-man in Dustin Byfuglien. Big Buff leads defenders in goals (16) and more importantly already has six game winning goals, as the Thrashers have put themselves into playoff contention.

Now that we took two steps back, let’s take one step forward and this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick, or the top three story lines I am watching for in the second half.

Trade Deadline Sweapstakes

In none of the other four major sports does the trade deadline matter so much than in the NHL. We sit four weeks away from the day that can decide the fates of so many franchises. In those four weeks teams will have to decide what piece they are away from winning the Cup and how much they are willing to give up to get that piece.

The tightness of the race in the Western Conference has been well documented but do not be surprised if a good amount of those team’s show their real identity in the weeks to come. As we grow closer and closer to that date check those twitter feeds and TSN trade center as teams step up or punk out. Sometimes it is those deals that are not made in a panic mode at the deadline are what are best for the organizations. February 28^th will be an interesting day for hockey writers, fans and general managers.

I am Feeling Dizzy

As the games arguable best player had to sit out the leagues weekend to showcase their talents, the commissioner dropped the knowledge that concussions are up this season. This after an off-season that showed them implement rule 48 to eliminate blind side hits to the head. The commissioner also informed us that blind side hits are down this season and that more of the concussions are happening due to area of accidental or inadvertent situations. I will be watching to see if the number continues to grow and to whom it could cost a run at the Stanley Cup.

I am almost certain that hockey fans will be forced fed some more information pertaining concussions when all 30 GM meet in Boca Raton for their meetings March 14th through the 16th. Concussions are a hot topic among the sporting world as more and more cases are showing their ugly head of how it affects the athlete after their playing days are done. The tricky job of the GM’s will be how you protect the player while protecting the natural physical nature of the game.

Award Season

In the spirit of the movie industry having their award season and how I documented earlier, the race for some of the top awards in the NHL are up for grabs. It will be an intriguing fight for the Art Ross and Hart Trophies. Henrik Sedin put an emphatic stamp on his candidacy for the Hart last season with 32 points in the last 21 games last season. How will Sidney Crosby come back from the concussion? Can Tim Thomas really keep up the pace he is on right now? Will any goalie stop Steve Stamkos from scoring goals? What will the Sedin twins have to say when it is all over? Will anyone please step up and win the Norris?

Those are some of the questions that need to be answer and will have an impact on which player takes home the hardware and more importantly lead their team to a good position to win the hardware that matters the most.

Teams with 2 games this weekend: Thrashers, Sabres, Flames, Blackhawks, Panthers, Canadiens, Devils, Islanders, Flyers, Lightning.

Defenseman To Watch:

Dennis Wideman, Panthers: A player that has been traded for offensive talents like Brad Boyes and Nathan Horton has finally found his scoring tough with his latest team.  The 27-year-old has six points in his last eight games including five of them coming on the power play. If you are looking for a plus player to win that category this weekend, do not look this kid’s way, as he is a -13 this season. With games this weekend verses the Lightning and Devils Wideman has a chance to put up some points as both of those teams rank near the bottom of the league in goals against.

Trevor Daley, Stars: Start believing folks, the Stars are for real, and thus a real fantasy gold mind.  The latest gem to come out of Big D is Trevor Daley.  The 27-year-old has five points in his last six games with three of them coming on the man advantage.  In his sixth NHL season Daley has entrenched himself into the Stars top four defenders playing 23:00 minutes a game, second only to top d-man Stephane Robidas. The Stars have already shown their trust in this talented player and locked him into a six-year extension in late December and the same should be for your fantasy squad.

Andy Greene, Devils: As the Devils continue their slide let’s not forget their fantasy value and their top defender has been producing lately.  Andy Greene took advantage of his added ice time last season and rewarded the team with a career-high 37 points, with 15 on the power play.  This season, like most of the Devils, he has taken a step backwards in his production.  Though lately that has not been the case with five points in his last six games, and even more important he has moved his plus/minus from a horrendous -25 to moderately respectable -19.  The 28-year-old is second on the team in ice time per game (22:02) and with the recent injury to Matt Taormina, you can expect his power play time to expand since the Devils have been employing a one defender top power play all season.

Goalie Spotlight

None this week, no time with a new job.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Paul Bissonnette vs. Trevor Gillies

Great fight by these two, mostly dominated by Gillies.

Matt Bradley vs. Adam McQuaid

A pretty decent fight that McQuaid had the advantage in.

Goats of the Week

Brian Rafalski – Detroit Red Wings

With about three minutes left in the game and the Stars pressing for the final goal, Rafalski is able to gain control of the puck and passes it right to Jamie Benn who feeds Brenden Morrow for the game tying goal. The Red Wings would end up losing in overtime, oops.

Jason LaBarbera – Phoenix Coyotes

LaBarbera went out to play the puck but wasn’t really able to because of the trapezoid rule, so that allowed Brandron Prust to take advantage of the situation and score. Better stay home next time LaBarbera.

Things I like

1. Not to be outdone by the Penguins recent success, Pennsylvania’s “other” team the Flyers are now on their own little winning streak before laying an egg and losing to the Panthers 5-0. The Flyers now boast the best record in the NHL. It will get tougher for them though, as Chris Pronger will be out at least a month with a broken foot. It will be interesting to see how the loss of Pronger affects the defense. If the loss to the Panthers is any indication, it won’t be good.

2. The Capitals won for the first time in awhile and snapped their winless streak. But they celebrated like they had just won the Stanley Cup. Of course it’s not like any of them would know how that would be, snap. The Capitals then creamed the Devils in the next game. Beating the Senators and the Devils isn’t really anything to write home about though. Their next game against the Penguins will show if the have gotten back on track or not.

3. Evgeni Malkin, since coming back form injury, is on fire. He is on a three game goal and scoring streak including a huge break out game against Phoenix where he netted two goals and three assists. Despite actually losing two games, the Penguins are not a team I would want to face right now.

Things I don’t

1. The starting of the Martin Brodeur trade rumors. I wrote about this in my 2^nd column this season, just retire already. I realize he has one more season on his contract after this season but he could still retire or just say he will retire after his contract is over. This isn’t like the Teemu Sleanne situation. Brodeur is not playing at a high level anymore. This also isn’t like the Ray Bourque situation. Brodeur already has plenty of Cups and records. What’s the point of going anywhere else? I realize maybe the Devils could get something for him to help them rebuild but I wouldn’t want him. Plus most of the teams that could use him either have no salary cap room or would be better off in the long term not alienating their current goalies but trading for him. There’s nothing I hate more than players that don’t know when to retire a la Brett Favre.

2. The Avalanche’s Kyle Quincey is now done for the year. Another blow to the injury riddled Avalanche but maybe a blessing in disguise as Quincey has regressed significantly from his previous two seasons. This gives him a chance to try and refocus and come back better next year.

3. The Montreal Canadiens have lost five of their last six. All is not lost as they are still in 1^st place and a lock to make the playoffs. The thing that only worries me about the Canadiens is that they don’t really have a true number one guy that can strap the team on it’s back a la Sidney Crosby. The Canadiens have scored 14 goals in the last six games but only two players have scored more than one goal. Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta each scored two. I can’t help but think it might be a problem come playoff time if they don’t make any trades.

4, The Ducks and their east coast road trip of inconsistency. They beat the Capitals and the Bruins but they lost to the Islanders, Hurricanes and Sabres. I’m not sure that makes much sense. It seems like they are playing up or down to their competition. Against the Sabres and Islanders the Ducks dug themselves into 0-3 holes in the 1^st period. Tough to dig yourself out of that on the road.

Stat Line of the Week

12/18/10 Carolina 4 vs. Anaheim 2

Eric Staal had a natural hat trick against the Ducks in a game where all five goals were scored by one player on each team, besides the empty net goal. He took a whopping 10 shots on goal and is on pace to have his best season in five years.

Did You Know?

Rod Langway is the only NHL player to be born in China. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His dad was stationed in Taiwan when he was born but he grew up in Massachusetts. Langway played for the Canadiens and Captials

Numbers, Numbers

26 – 3^rd period shots for the Capitals against the Bruins

2 – Shots in the 3^rd period for the Bruins in the same game

100 – Games between goals for Andrew Ference

99 – The span of seconds the Islanders scored all three of their goals for the game in the 1^st period

7-8 – The road records for the Canadiens and Capitals (Capitals also have an OTL), the only Eastern teams in the top eight spots that have losing road records

Quotes of the Week

“You guys saw it. There’s not a whole lot to say. That’s not the way a National Hockey League team is supposed to play.”

- RW/captain Jamie Langenbrunner after Saturday night’s 7-1 loss in Atlanta.

“At the end of the day only one line scored again. The guys have got to do what they’re paid to do, which is score some goals.”

- Coach Ron Wilson after a 4-1 loss to Vancouver.

“It was one of those nights. I probably am not going to even look at the game.”

- Coach Barry Trotz on the 6-1 loss to the Kings

“It’s amazing. It’s my first (overtime goal) ever. It’s a pretty great feeling. It’s one of those things where you score and you kind of think, ‘Did I just score?’…”

- Avalanche center Matt Duchene, whose overtime goal Friday secured a 6-5 win against Ottawa.

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

December 16, 1964 Detroit’s Gordie Howe picked up two goals and two assists to become the first player in NHL history to score 1,300 career points. He reched the milestone during a 7-3 win over the Rangers, in New York.

December 17, 1999 Pavel Bure scored his 13th career hat trick and added an assist in the Panthers 4-2 win at Buffalo.

December 18, 1998 Ottawa’s Alexei Yashin scored twice and added three assists as the Senators won 5-1 against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Yashin set a club record for points in a period with a goal and three assists in the second.

December 19, 1943 Harry Lumley became the youngest goaltender in NHL history, when he made his first appearance with the Red Wings, a 6-2 loss to the Rangers in New York. Lumley made his NHL debut at the age of 17 years and 38 days.

December 20, 1989 Chicago Blackhawks set a team record with four goals within a span of 1:56 during the third period of a 9-6 win against the St. Louis Blues, in Chicago Stadium.

December 21, 1996 Mats Sundin scored his 4th career hat trick (and his first with Toronto) and added an assist in the Maple Leafs’ 6-2 win over the Avalanche, at Colorado.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh

2. Vancouver

3. Nashville

4. Philadelphia

5. Dallas

Bottom 5

30. New Jersey

29. N.Y Islanders

28. Columbus

27. Ottawa

26. Washington

Second during the Canucks vs. Ducks game, Curtis McElhinney was cut badly by a slapshot and fell to the ice and the Canucks scored on the rebound with McElhinney unable to make a play. Since it happened so fast, I realize that the ref probably didn’t notice what had happened and that is fine. The problem is a replay can clearly tell you what happened. Under the rules I guess you can’t go to a replay in that situation even though you should be able to. There is no reason why every goal shouldn’t be reviewable. Also it brings up the perfect reason to have coach’s challenges like they do in football. One goal can greatly effect the outcome of a game, or swing momentum, so they should not be taken lightly. One or two coach’s challenges for both teams would be sufficient. The challenges should be allowed to be used on any goal or penalty. There was a situation in another Ducks game where they ruled Jason Blake had touched the puck with a high stick and then bounced the rebound into the net. The ref ruled no goal because of the high stick. The replay however showed that it may not have been played with a high stick. At that point it can’t be overturned but a coach’s challenge would allow it to be reviewed for the correct call.

Some might say allowing coach’s challenges would slow the game down. But goals that may have been kicked in are reviewed and honestly how long does that take? It doesn’t take that long and I think that making sure the correct call was made is more important than how long it takes. Hockey is the fastest sport there is and slowing it down a bit would help make sure the right calls are made.

Goalie Spotlight

Kari Lehtonen – Dallas Stars

Lehtonen was born in Helsinki Finland and like the other great Finnish NHL players he started his career in the SM-liiga league. He played for Jokerit and during the 2001-02 season he started out as the backup but ended up taking the starting job and the Urpo Ylönen trophy, given to the best goalie. He followed that up by wining the MVP trophy in the postseason en route to winning the title and he had one more stellar year before coming to North America. In the 2002 NHL Entry Draft he was selected 2^nd overall by the Atlanta Thrashers. Making him the the highest drafted European goalie and Finnish player ever.

He played for the Chicago Wolves, the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate, in 2003-04 but was called up for four games. He won all of those games and posted a 1.25 GAA and .953 SV%. Despite his impressive performance he was sent back to the Wolves for the rest of the season and all of the following season, though that was because of the NHL lockout. Lehtonen was slated to become the Thrashers’ starting goalie during the 2005-06 season but suffered a groin injury when Nathan Horton slammed into him on opening night. He came back later that season but in April but was injured again when Chris Dingman collided with him. The Thrashers started five different goalies that season. Lehtonen tried it again and played in 68 games for the Thrashers. During this season he set many Thrasher franchise records, of course the Thrashers weren’t that old at this point. Nevertheless he broke the shutout streak record and, became the Thrashers’ all time winningest goalie. He also started the Thrashers’ first playoff game ever.

2006-07 was the only season in which Lehtonen start over 50 games for the Thrashers. He was injured partially in 2007-08 and played about as much the following season. At this point the Thrashers had drafted Ondrej Pavelec and the writing was on the wall for Lehtonen. He didn’t play at all for the Thrashers in 2009-10, except for four games with the Wolves affiliate. He was traded to the Dallas Stars in early 2010, where he ended up playing 12 games for the Stars. Lehtonen has the difficult task of following after Marty Turco, who was with the Stars the past nine seasons. So far this season he is off to a pretty decent start with the Stars, posting a 2.59 GAA and .915 SV%. He has yet to record a shutout so far. He is currently injured since December 8^th with back problems and Andrew Raycroft has been filling in. The Stars are hoping Lehtonen will play a big part for them, as they hope to return to the playoffs. If not, they do have many young goalie prospects waiting.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Tim Jackman vs. Kyle Clifford

Not your normal fight by any means but still fun to watch.

Jared Boll vs. Cam Janssen

A decent scrap that would have been better if more shots connected.

Brad Staubitz vs. Kyle Clifford

This was one of those one sided fights.

Goats of the Week

Jason Spezza – Ottawa Senators

I’m not really quite sure what Spezza was doing. It looks like a no look pass, which is never a good thing to do in overtime and Bryan Little demonstrates why that is. Little picks up Spezza’s gift and takes it down to the other end for the breakaway goal.

Jonathon Quick – Los Angeles Kings

In this installment of when the goalie leaves his crease… Quick goes out to play an incoming puck which is fine but his decision of where to play it was not. Mikko Koivu says thank you very much.

Quick wasn’t done though. A mere 10 seconds after the Kings tied it, Quick goes behind the net to stop the puck but instead does not and Cal Clutterbuck says thanks.

Marc Savard – Boston Bruins

I don’t really blame Savard for this miscue as he was just fighting for possession along the boards and it wasn’t his fault the defenseman wasn’t there. Still it will make this section and I loved Thomas’ reaction after the goal.

Things I like

1. The Penguins are a lot better than _______ (insert any team name here, except maybe the Flyers) and Sidney Crosby is a much better play than ________ (insert any NHL player name here). Marc-Andre Fleury has rebounded very nicely since his awful start and has a SV% of .942 during the just ended 12 game winning streak. Evgeni Malkin came back from his injury and scored two power play goals against the Flyers. Jordan Staal might possibly be coming back soon as well.

2. Besides sharing the last name with a popular fashion company, Logan Couture is having a tremendous “rookie” season. I put that in quotes because he played 25 games last year but he is still considered a rookie this season. Couture had a five game point streak recently snapped. He is currently the rookie leader in goals and points. With Thornton and Marleau getting up there in age, the Sharks will be glad they have Couture and Joe Pavelski to lead them in the future.

3. The Kings had a November they would like to forget and Quick had a game he would like to forget against Minnesota. They both redeemed themselves though. The Kings have now won four of five and also picked up a point in the aforementioned game against Minnesota. Quick was instrumental in the Kings blanking the Red Wings 5-0 on the road. Quick stopped all 51 shots in the win and had many great saves. Even better news was that Willie Mitchell was able to rejoin the Kings’ lineup.

Things I don’t

1. The Ducks recently found themselves with a two goal lead in the 3^rd period three games in a row, which they then squandered in the 3^rd period three times in a row. All three of them went to a shootout. They won two of them and lost one to the Canucks. Some of it has do to with inexperienced defense, sum of it to bad luck and some of it to attacking less. In the 3^rd period against Vancouver they were out shot 15-2. You won’t win many games that way. They rebounded in a big way against Minnesota and there is hope the new faces will continue to gel.

2. If you had to pick on team with the most pressure on them this season, I’m pretty sure you would pick the Capitals. The Capitals started out with there usual high scoring offense and added some improved defensive skills for a winning combination. Lately though things have gone south. The Capitals have now lost six in a row. Coach Bruce Boudreau said of the recent slump, “I don’t have an answer right now. It’s unfamiliar territory. I think we have a lot of people feeling sorry for themselves.” The Capitals have also surprisingly been shutout twice in the last three games. Though they were also shutout two times in a three game span the previous month. But losing really is new territory for them. They have only loss two or more games three times this season. Their current six game slump is the aforementioned third time. The latest 7-0 drubbing at the hands of the Rangers was a new low though. Alex Ovechkin was so frustrated he actually fought. The Capitals have out shot all of the opponents they have lost to (some by a wide margin) so they aren’t getting manhandled. This season we already had a superstar, Sidney Crosby, of a struggling team drop his gloves to fight against the Stars. The Penguins responded by first losing to the Ducks the next game and then they promptly reeled off 15 victories in the next 17 games. Eerily the Capitals next opponent is also the Ducks. So will the Capitals lose to them as well and then reel off 15 victories in the next 17 games? We shall soon find out.

3. I don’t care for all this “controversy” over Linus Omark’s shootout spin-o-rama. Disrespectful? Please. To who? The Lightning? I don’t see it. Unless it’s done right in front of the opposing team or it’s some kind of inappropriate gesture like a middle finger, I say bring it on. The more character and color a player brings to the game the better, I say. I would have loved it if he did a snow angel first and then took a shot.

Stat Line of the Week

12/12/10 Anaheim 6 vs. Minnesota 2

Corey Perry and the Ducks top line in general were on fire against the Wild. Perry figured into everyone of the Ducks’ goals except for one. He also had his first NHL career hat trick. His goals came on even strength, penalty shot and power play. Hard to imagine it took him six seasons to get his first hat trick.

Did You Know?

In 1999-2000 the Detroit Red Wings became the first team in NHL history to have players score their 300th (Fedorov), 400th (Shanahan), 500th (Verbeek) & 600th (Yzerman) career NHL goals while playing on the same team.

Numbers, Numbers

544 – Games played (now 545) by captain Rick Nash, The Blue Jackets franchise leader in games played now

7 – The now ended streak of number of wins for Corey Crawford, just one win shy of tying the Blackhawks franchise rookie record for consecutive wins

2 – Wins by Antti Niemi over his former team this season

19 – Games of Sidney Crosby’s current scoring streak

27.17 – GAA for Steve Manson against Calgary where he had two goals allowed on four shots before being yanked

5 – Goals scored by Henrik Sedin, the only player in the top 20 in scoring who doesn’t have double digits in goals

Quotes of the Week

“We have a situation where we are going with young players, and I’m not going to deviate from the plan to rebuild through the draft. I’m not going to trade our young prospects, whether they are in Bridgeport, junior hockey, college hockey or in Europe, for a quick fix.”

—GM Garth Snow, before the Isles fell to an NHL-worst 5-17-5 with a 5-4 loss Saturday to Atlanta.

Kudos to Snow for sticking with that. The players they have drafted recently should come together, they just need time.

“It’s not an easy pill to swallow. But I can’t beat myself up. It takes time. The game feels really fast, too fast. They’re going 100 miles an hour and it’s like my feet are in cement.”

—Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban on his struggles after missing three games as a healthy scratch.

“He slashed me twice and I just turned around and go. If I saw it was a tough guy maybe I don’t go, but I saw he was a normal player, so I go.”

- Thrashers center Alex Burmistrov on his fight with New York’s John Tavares in Saturday’s win over the Islanders.

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

December 09, 1988 New Jersey’s John MacLean scored three goals in his second consecutive game (for his third career hat trick) as the Devils won 6-5 over the visiting NY Islanders.

December 10, 1997 Michel Petit became the first player in NHL history to score a point for 10 different teams, when his first assist of the year helped the Phoenix Coyotes to a 3-3 tie at Chicago.

December 11, 2000 NHL officially appoved the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Wayne Gretzky and partner Steve Ellman.

December 12, 1992 L.A. Kings rookie goalie Robb Stauber ran his record to 9-0-1 (and his winning streak to a team-record tying seven straight) when the Kings beat the Blues, 6-3 at the Forum.

December 13, 2001 Patrick Lalime became the Ottawa Senators all-time leader in career shutouts, with his 14th as a member of the team, a 6-0 win against Phoenix. Lalime broke the mark of 13 held by Ron Tugnutt. Martin Havlat a hat trick for the Sens.

December 14, 1997 Teppo Numminen became the Coyotes’ franchise all-time leader in assists by a defenseman, when he picked up the 250th of his career in a 3-3 tie against the Red Wings, in Phoenix. Numminen broke the mark of 249 set by Fredrik Olausson.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh

2. Atlanta

3. Nashville

4. Philadelphia

5. Los Angeles

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. New Jersey

28. Columbus

27. Ottawa

26. Washington

Goalie Spotlight

Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins

(Note:This is a repeat spotlight from last year, somewhat updated.)

Tim Thomas was the winner of the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and the William Jennings trophy (best GAA for a team) with Manny Fernandez two seasons ago. 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 (2007-08, 2008-09) 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 were high in 2009-10 for Boston. Boston struggled somewhat that season but rebounded to make the playoffs before suffering their embarrassing collapse against the Flyers. Tuukka Rask ended up taking over the number one goalie position that year, not because Thomas necessarily struggled but because Rask was hotter. This season it was assumed to be Rask’s job to lose. Which is exactly what Rask did when he struggled to start the year off. Thomas was given the opportunity to take back the starting job, which he did when he was off to his best start in his career. Already recording 5 shutouts this season, Thomas should easily pass his career high of 5 set the previous two seasons. It’s likely he will also add another Vezina to his trophy collection.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Derek Dorsett vs. Patrick Kaleta

Dorsett plays the part of human punching bag in this fight.

Shawn Thornton vs. Jody Shelley

Decent scrap that would have been better if more had landed.

Goats of the Week

Mike Weber – Buffalo Sabres

This one cost the Sabres dearly as Weber’s giveaway in the final minutes of the 3^rd allowed the Bruins to tie the game and then go on to win it in overtime.

P.K Subban and Michal Cammalleri – Montreal Canadiens

This was one of the those play/passes you’d just like to forget. Subban has a risky pass to Cammalleri who handles it poorly and Dustin Penner picks it up for the game winner in overtime.

Mike Smith – Tampa Bay Lightning

I have no idea what Smith was doing on this play, either way he wasn’t doing what he should have been doing.

Mike Smith and Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning

You may have noticed this wasn’t Mike Smith’s best game of his career. I have no idea what these two were doing on this play.

Things I like

1. Atlanta is doing what Tampa Bay can’t do, beat Washington. The Thrashers are now 2-0 against the Capitals this season, with a combined score of 8-1. Impressive for a Thrashers team that will be competing for a playoff spot maybe a season before many thought they would.

2. Taylor Hall started out slow but it’s never easy for an eighteen year old rookie (now 19) to adjust to the NHL. Hall had his first multi-goal game against Toronto and then followed that up with the game winner in overtime against St. Louis. He also almost has the same amount of block shots in the past three games (5) as he did in the previous 23 games (6).

3. The Canucks actually beat the Blackhawks. More importantly Roberto Luongo actually had a shutout. While it’s just a regular season game, it has to do wonders for the Canucks confidence against a team that generally has had their number. The two will square off one more time this season in Vancouver.

4. Welcome Back Joffrey Lupul. Lupul played in his first NHL game since recovery from all of his complications from his back injury almost exactly a year after his last game. He didn’t produce any point but he did have three shots on goal. It’s great that he was able to make a recovery to continue to do what he loves.

5. Loved the goalie duel between the Sabres and Bruins last night. Thomas had some great stops, especially one from point blank range. This was a great goaltending battle last year in the playoffs with Rask vs Miller.

Things I don’t

1. The Calgary Flames now find themselves at the bottom of the conference. Probably not what they envisioned when they “retooled” this offseason. Of course most Flames and hockey fans in general are not surprised because all they did was basically bring back guys (Olli Jokinen, Alex Tanguay and so on) that didn’t work out in the first place. Surprisingly, however, is that Miikka Kiprusoff is on pace for as many shutouts as he had during the best season of his career a few years ago. I really hope if they don’t make any progress this year, they blow it up. (okay not last anymore, as they just beat the Lightning to leapfrog the Oilers)

2. San Jose Sharks are a team with talent obviously, they are also a team that can’t play consistently well. Let’s break down their last eight games. L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W. Judging by this pattern, I assume the Sharks will lose to the Flyers tonight before rebounding with a win in Buffalo. Just one of the many reasons the Sharks are 4^th in their division instead of their usual 1^st place spot. Though the West and the Pacific are very tough.

3. The Patrick Kane injury will be a tough thing to overcome for a Blackhawks team that looked like it was just starting to gel, winning four of their last five. It will be tough to cope without their second leading scorer but the Blackhawks have many skilled players (Kopecky, Stalberg, Skille, Bickell) to help fill the void. In the long run this might actually help the Blackhawks and give somebody else a chance to step up and shine.

Stat Line of the Week

12/02/10 Pittsburgh 3 vs. Atlanta 2

Sidney Crosby is in the midst of a remarkable run. But there is one thing he hasn’t accomplished in his still young career. That would be the natural hat trick, until the game against the Thrashers. Crosby accounted for all of the Penguins goals and notched his 7^th career hat trick just two games after his 6^th.

Did You Know?

On October 17, 2008, Zach Harrison of the Minnesota State University Mavericks recorded a shorthanded natural hat trick against the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Harrison scored the three consecutive short handed goals over a span of 29:54. According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, they were not sure that this feat had ever been accomplished before at college level, and have since put Harrison’s stick on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, C.J. Young of Harvard is believed to have accomplished a shorthanded natural hat trick in 1988 against Dartmouth.

Numbers, Numbers

0 – Regular strength goals in the Flames vs Blackhawks game. 5 power play goals and 1 empty net goal ( I don’t count the empty net goal as an even strength goal)

16 – Straight games with a point for Sidney Crosby

40 – Giveaways by Ryan Getzlaf tops in the NHL

10 – Rounds of shootout between the Oilers and Ducks, which was highly entertaining to watch

16.90 – GAA for Brian Elliot after giving up a goal in four minutes of relief duty against Montreal

0 – Regulation losses for Boston and Carolina when scoring first, the only two teams that can say that

Quotes of the Week

“It’s not fun until it’s over.”

- Coach Dan Bylsma, on watching a blowout victory at Columbus after the Penguins scored four goals in the opening period.

“If you’ve got the answer, let me know.”

- C Jason Spezza, after the Senators were shut out for a second straight game in Saturday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the Sabres.

“When we come into games now you can just tell in the dressing room, everyone is a lot more vocal. Before, we’d come in the dressing room and it would just be kind of down. That’s how we’d start games. It’s always been a fun feeling in here, but sometimes before games you’d just get a little down.”

—Taylor Hall, on the recent change in the Oilers.

“They must have run out of bodies.”

- Flyers RW Andreas Nodl on why he was used for the final 20 seconds of a power play, during which he scored his first career power-play goal.

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

December 02, 1989 Toronto’s Ed Olczyk began a team-record 18 game point scoring streak in the Maple Leafs’ 7-4 loss to the Flames, at Calgary.

December 03, 1991 Joe Nieuwendyk scored his 200th NHL career goal in a 5-2 Flames loss at Detroit. Nieuwendyk became the 4th player in franchise history to score 200 goals in a Calgary uniform.

December 04, 1971 Rookie goaltender Ken Dryden recorded his third career shutout, Jacques Lemaire scored his second career hat trick and added two assists and Frank Mahovlich picked up four assists as the Canadiens won 7-0 against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.

December 05, 2001 Mike Keenan became just the second man in NHL history to coach seven different NHL teams, when he led the Florida Panthers to a 2-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in his first game behind the bench. Roberto Luongo picked up the shutout.

December 06, 2000 Ron Francis became the fifth player in NHL history to record 1,100 career assists. He picked up the milestone point during Carolina’s 5-3 win over the Thrashers, in Atlanta. It was also Francis’ 900th game with the Hurricanes’ franchise.

December 07, 1961 Jean Beliveau wore the “C” on his Montreal sweater for the first time in his career, when he played his first game of the season in a 4-1 win over Toronto, at the Forum.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh

2. Detroit

3. Dallas

4. Atlanta

5. Chicago

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Minnesota

28. Columbus

27. New Jersey

26. Ottawa

SHOOTOUT VICTORY

The following teams are shopping this holiday for a shootout victory this season.  As Wild, Oilers and Bruins are 0-3 this season and the Canucks and Islanders are 0-2. The Wild wish there was a power play on the shootout as they have only scored 3 goals in their 3 shootouts.

The offensively challenged Oilers and Bruins are worst off as both teams have only 2 goals in their 3 shootout losses.  The top two picks of the 2010 NHL Draft have been successful for those teams as Taylor Hall is one for one and Tyler Seguin has the only two goals for the Bruins in three attempts.

Though only in two shootouts each the Canucks only have two goals and the Islanders have none.  The goalies of those two teams have not done any better as Roberto Luongo has given up five goals on all five shots this season.  Dwayne Roloson has only stopped one of his three shots faced but ironically Ricky DiPietro has given up only one goal on his three attempts faced.

The goalies of the three shootout losses teams have been atrocious also.  Niklas Backstrom has given up six goals on the 11 shots faced, that is not going to give any team a chance to win.  Early season favorite for the Vezina Tim Thomas has stopped six of the nine attempts he faced, so that goes on the offense to have someone other than Seguin to score. His counterpart Tuukka Rask gave up two shootout goals on the two shots he faced.  The Oilers were glad to see Nikolai Khabibulin return as he at least stopped one of the two shots he faced, while Devan Dubnyk was awful giving up five goals on seven shots.

So in the month of December all these teams are asking for is a victory in a shootout to give them a chance in the standings as we have seen in the last couple of the seasons the shootout can be the difference in making or missing the playoffs.

POWER OUTAGE

Some of the top teams are having a difficult time scoring with the man advantage this season and will be shopping around on ways to improve what could be a deadly weapon. Philadelphia, Montreal and Pittsburgh are seeded 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th right now in the Eastern Conference but ranked 16^th, 11^th and 12^th respectively on the power play. All those teams have dangerous offensive talents and normally ranked in the top five in power play percentages.

Out West the Los Angeles Kings had the seventh ranked power play last season and have the 23^rd ranked one this season.  The surprise Dallas Stars, who lead the Pacific Division, have the 17^th ranked power play and the upstart St. Louis Blues who sit in a playoff spot now in the West are ranked 26^th in power play percentage.

All of these teams mentioned have offensive talent just have not found the right combination on the man advantage.  For most of these teams finding that right combination can be the difference in being a good team and a great team and for some being a playoff team and playing golf in the spring.

FIRST GOAL FRENZY

Scoring the first goal in a game is important in many levels and shown that all 30 NHL teams have a winning percentage of .500 or higher when scoring first.  That being said some teams have horrible winning percentages when they give up the first goal and will be shopping this holiday season for the all important first goal.

The New York Islanders have had a tough time to start the season, not to mention a 14-game losing streak and a coach firing, they are 0-13-2 when they give up the first goal.  The Devils have had a tough time scoring goals, NHL worst 1.81 goals per game, as they are 2-12 when trailing early.  The Canucks are 12-1-1 when they score the first goal of the game and conversely 2-7-2 when they don’t. Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators are fringe playoff teams and both only have two wins when they give up the first goal.

Look at the top of the standings with teams like Washington (9 wins when giving up first goal), Pittsburgh (7 wins), Philadelphia (6 wins) and Detroit (4 wins) shows that good teams that can bounce back from giving up the first goal of the game. But these teams would like for the holiday some games where they do not have to bounce back and take the early lead.

The Avalanche are currently right around the final playoff spot. While it’s way to early to be discussing playoff spots, it’s not a bad position for a team that is not even close to 100% to be in. When the Avalanche get everyone back and healthy, they could make make a major push up the standings after the all star break as they hope to build upon last year’s playoff exit.

Goalie Spotlight

Ondrej Pavelec – Atlanta Thrashers

Ondrej Pavelec is a native of Kladno in the Czech Republic. Kladno is actually the birthplace of many famous NHL stars such as Jaromir Jagr and Tomas Plekanec. Pavelec led the Czech Republic under 17 team to a 2^nd place finish in the 2004 Junior World Cup. He was part of the 2010 IIHF World Championship gold medal team but Tomáš Vokoun was the starting goalie. He was also on the 2010 Olympic team.

Pavelec was drafted in the 2^nd round by the Thrashers in 2005. He then played for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL. Both seasons he was a first team All-Star and won the Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy for best goals-against average. He was only the fourth player ever to repeat as a winner and the first one to do so in 20 years. He also won the rookie of the year award and the top defensive rookie of the year award. When the Thrashers signed Pavelec they sent him to the Chicago Wolves in the AHL. In 2007-08 he help lead the Wolves to the Calder Cup.

In 2007-08 he also played in seven games for the Thrashers and then twelve games in 2008-09. It wasn’t until 2009-10 that he stayed on Thrashers for the while season. He split time with Johan Hedberg that season. Posting a 3.29 GAA, .906 SV% and two shutouts. This season he is the number one goalie for the Thrashers. He did have a well documented scare when he collapsed on the ice on October 8^th. The doctors determined the cause of his collapse was neurocardiogenic syncope, a type of fainting spell. He received a concussion and lost consciousness after his head hit the ice. So far this season Pavelec is off to a tremendous start. In just twelve games started he has two shutouts, a 1.62 GAA and a .949 SV%. He is currently in 2^nd place for SV% behind only Tim Thomas. The much improved Thrashers are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Pavelec will play an integral part in that quest and he will also try to solidify his spot as the number one goalie in Atlanta for the next decade.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Matt Hunwick vs. Evander Kane

Decent scrap between these two, with the advantage going to Kane.

Shawn Thornton vs. Eric Boulton

This fight had its slow moments but was pretty good overall.

Cam Janssen vs. John Scott

Not many times will you see Cam Janssen outsized by this much. I particularly liked him telling Scott to bring some more halfway through the fight.

Goats of the Week

Andy Sutton – Anaheim Ducks

Sutton tries to pass that puck up and out of Anaheim’s end but ends up just passing it right to Patrick Sharp who scores the eventual game winning goal.

Erik Johnson – St. Louis Blues

Johnson was looking to pass or possibly shoot again on the power play but instead did neither, as Jamie Benn picked his pocket and went down the ice for a shorthanded goal that tied the game.

Things I like

1. Dustin Byfuglien is having a career year so far. I figured he would have a breakout year, if given an increased role and playing time. Not only is leading the Thrashers in goals and points, he is leading the NHL with five game winning goals. If the Thrashers actually make the playoffs, I think he should be in the running for the Hart trophy. Of course even if they did make the playoffs, he would never get nominated. Either way it’s the best trade the Thrashers have ever made and a great job by the Blackhawks for finding him in the 8^th round.

2. Antti Niemi hasn’t had the best off-season or season so far but beating his former team surely brought some satisfaction to him. It was one of his best performances of the season. Unfortunately he was unable to follow that up with a strong performance against the Canucks. But the Canucks just outplayed the Sharks, who were also shorthanded on the forward position.

3. The Penguins are red hot winners of seven straight. Sidney Crosby has a 13 game point scoring streak and Marc-Andre Fleury has considerably picked up his game from the start of the season. Fleury during the streak has won six games with one shutout and a .953 SV%. This was the team that was envisioned when the Penguins bolstered their defense this past off-season. Watch out once Evgeni Malkin gets into a groove and Jordan Staal gets back.

4. Corey Crawford currently has a five game winning streak going. Before the season is over, he may just win the stating job from Marty Turco. Not including the five goals he gave up to the Blues last night, which were mostly redirects, Crawford’s numbers during the streak have been impressive. He had a 1.21 GAA and a .951 GAA.

Things I don’t

1. If the Tampa Bay Lightning are to show they are serious about being a playoff team and contending for the Southeast division title, they will need to play way better against the top dog Washington Capitals. So far they have been outscored 12-3 in two games against the Capitals, including the latest 6-0 blowout. A goal right off the face-off three minutes into the game does not help to set a good tone for the game. It was already 5-0 halfway through the game. You can’t give the Capitals breakaways or 5 on 3 power plays, those are automatic goals. Here’s hoping the Lightning have a better effort when they get the Capitals at home later.

2. After crowning the Central Division the best this year, St. Louis has faltered and it looks to be the Red Wings division, again, after beating the Blue Jackets in back to back games. I’d like to see somebody give Detroit a run for its money. Skate blade related injuries are always the worst and it looks like Mike Modano will be out for at least two months after being cut by R.J Umberger’s skate. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for the 40 year old. Perhaps they can design a skate blade that retracts once it’s off the ice. I’m sure they can find a way to do it. At any rate it seems like the Blackhawks are starting to gel, so we might get a race for the division crown after all.

3. I briefly mentioned the struggles of the West Coast teams here last week. The good news for the Los Angeles Kings is they have mostly been competitive in their last eight games. The bad new is they aren’t winning any of their games. They obviously miss Alexei Ponikarovsky and Willie Mitchell, both on IR, but they also miss secondary scoring. Jarrett Stoll was my choice for the Kings team MVP in the beginning of the year but lately he hasn’t done much. Stoll had an eight point scoring streak at one point and a nine point hit streak. He hasn’t been as physical lately and he has only one point, a goal, in his last six games. The blueline needs to pick it up as well. Drew Doughty received a penalty call in the 2^nd against the Ducks and promptly eight seconds after he got out of the box he received another bad tripping call, this time the Ducks scored on it. You just can’t do stuff like that.

Stat Line of the Week

11/27/10 Colorado 7 vs. Minnesota 4

Since being drafted in 2002 by the Blue Jackets, Greg Mauldin had only played in 15 career NHL games in seven seasons. He has mostly played in the minors and in Europe. But with all the Avalanche injuries lately, Mauldin was able to step up and contribute in the win in Minnesota. He had two goals, career goals two and three, to go along with two assists. Mauldin should continue to see increased playing time.

Did You Know?

That Claude Lemieux is the only player to score a goal five different ways in a game. He scored an even strength, power play, short handed, penalty shot and empty net goal against the New Jersey Devils on December 31^st 1988. Sidney Crosby came real close against the Flames recently. Had he made his penalty shot, he would have scored the five different ways with only four goals because of his empty net shorthanded goal.

Numbers, Numbers

10,000^th – Flames franchise goal scored by Curtis Glencross against Philadelphia

448 – Consecutive games played by Jay Bouwmeester, the longest active streak in the NHL

4 – The number of games Crosby doesn’t have a point in so far this season

3 – Alexander Semin hat tricks this season

3.48 – Goals a game scored by the Avalanche, tops in the NHL

171 – PIM by the Panthers, the lowest in the NHL by far

7 – Straight games with a point for Avs rookie defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk

Quotes of the Week

“It was time. We weren’t able to smile there for a good month.”

- Goalie Rick DiPietro after the Islanders ended a 14-game winless streak (0-11-3) with a 2-0 win Friday against New Jersey.

“It’s frustrating, I’ve never seen anything like it where you get shut out so many times. It’s pretty tough to take.”

- Luke Schenn said after a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The Leafs are now averaging barely two goals a game, scored just once on the weekend and have eight goals in an 0-7-1 road losing streak.

“Considering nobody on the team bought me anything, it was nice to get a goal.”

- D Keith Ballard, who celebrated his 28th birthday by recording his first point as a Canuck with 3:22 left in a 6-1 win over San Jose.

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

November 25, 2001 Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 41 shots to record his second consecutive shutout (the 25th of his career) and Pavel Kubina and Tim Taylor scored shorthanded goals 57 seconds apart in the 1st period as Tampa Bay won 4-0 over the Hurricanes in Carolina.

November 26, 1999 Detroit’s Larry Murphy became the fourth player (and first defenseman) in NHL history to appear in 1,500 career NHL games. The milestone came in a 4-2 win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers. Murphy picked up two assists in the game.

November 27, 1965 Detroit’s Gordie Howe scored his 600th NHL goal. It came in a 6-2 Red Wings loss to Montreal. Howe also got a major penalty that night for elbowing J.C. Tremblay. Howe became the first NHL player to get 600 career goals.

November 28, 1954 Boston’s Leo Labine scored three goals (in a span of 4:22) and added three assists in a 6-2 win over Detroit, at Boston Garden. Labine picked up five points in the second period to tie an NHL record.

November 29, 1962 Rangers’ Andy Bathgate scored his 229th career NHL goal to become New York’s all-time leading scorer, breaking Bill Cook’s record for Rangers’ goals (228) in a 5-0 win at Detroit. Gump Worsley got his 23rd career shutout.

November 30, 1996 Mario Lemieux had a goal and three assists for his 1,400th career point and Ron Francis added a goal and two assists for his 900th career assist in the Penguins’ 6-2 win over Boston. Lemiuex became the 9th NHL player to score 1,400 points.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh

2. Detroit

3. Atlanta

4. Phoenix

5. Chicago

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Los Angeles

28. Toronto

27. Ottawa

26. St. Louis

During the Islanders heyday Bill Torrey was the GM. His last few bigger deals included Kelly Hrudey for Mark Fitzpatrick, Pat LaFontaine for Pierre Turgeon essentially and the acquisition of Darius Kasparaitis. While they were not that bad, they weren’t all that great either. Torrey left when the Islanders changed management.

Next up was Don Maloney whose deals included trading Pierre Turgeon for Kirk Muller and Ron Hextall for Tommy Soderstrom. Soderstrom never panned out as the Islanders would have liked and Hextall ended up leading the league in GAA. Kirk Muller ended up playing a whopping 27 games total in his two seasons with the Islanders before being traded in a big mess. Maloney was shortly fired.

Then came everyone’s favorite GM Mike Milbury. Milbury was able to help guide the Islanders to three straight playoff appearances between 2001-2004 the first time that happened since 1985-1988. On the down side all of the appearances was they were all 1^st round exits. The Islanders could have been even better if Milbury had an eye for talent. Milbury’s most notable blunders include trading Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish. He also acquired Alexei Yashin for Zedno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the 2^nd overall pick in the 2001 draft, which ended up being Jason Spezza. He also traded Bryan McCabe and Todd Bertuzzi for Trevor Linden. While Linden was a great player, he was definitely on the downside of his career while McCabe and Bertuzzi were just starting their careers. Personally I think a team of Chara and McCabe on defense, a line of Spezza, Bertuzzi and Jokinen, with Luongo in net wouldn’t be that bad. Even with Luongo’s and Jokinen’s problems.

Drafting wise the Islanders haven’t done any better. Bertuzzi and Brett Lindros were drafted under Maloney. Bertuzzi was of course traded before being developed and Lindros was a bust who had a career ending injury. Wade Redden was also a bust but regardless of that, he never even played for the Islanders in the first place.

Milbury didn’t draft much better. His first 1^st round pick of Jean-Pierre “J. P.” Dumont, ended in a contract dispute that saw Dumont get traded. He followed that up with drafting Luongo and Eric Brewer. Luongo played one season with the Islanders and wasn’t given time to develop and Brewer’s short two year run was a disaster. Michael Rupp was picked the next year in the draft and you can guess how that went. Between 1994 to 1998 the Islanders had six draft picks in the top ten spots. Three of them never even wore an Islanders sweater during a game and the other three all played two shortened seasons or less before being traded or they had their career ended by injury. In 1999 the Islanders had four 1^st round picks but rather than write about it, I’m going to let you guess how those panned out. Here’s a hint, they weren’t any better than the previous ones. Then there was the Rick DiPietro pick to start the century off. That actually wouldn’t have been a bad pick if not for DiPietro’s injury problems.

When Milbury finally left Neil Smith took over for a whopping 40 days and then was replaced with current GM Garth Snow. I actually like the last few Islanders’ draft picks of Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and John Tavares. A good sign is that they are all still on the team. This years pick of Nino Niederreiter seems like he will develop into a great player, though still too early to tell. I also like the recent pick-ups of James Wisniewski and Michael Grabner.

The main thing the Islanders need is a GM with a good eye for talent. I think Garth Snow has that. The next step is to actually let the players develop. So while they aren’t winning now, results can’t be expected to happen overnight. I realize if you are an Islanders’ fan, it seems like you have been waiting forever but just give it a little more time.

Goalie Spotlight

Rick DiPietro – NY Islanders

Since we are on the subject of the Islanders, I figured I would spotlight Rick DiPietro. DiPietro was born in Winthrop, MA and played just one season for Boston University. But what a season it was. He was named to the All-Rookie Team, named to the Second Team All-Hockey East and was awarded the Hockey East’s Rookie of the Year. He also stopped 77 of 80 shots, just one save short of the record, in a quadruple overtime loss to St. Lawrence University during the NCAA regional final. He was also named MVP of the Beanpot tournament, which is a tournament participated in by the four major Boston area colleges. After his one stellar season the Islanders made him the 1^st overall pick of the 2000 draft. Milbury’s desire to draft DiPietro is what prompted him to trade Roberto Luongo.

He played in only 20 games is rookie year and manged just three wins and a .878 SV%. He was subsequently sent down to the Chicago Wolves of the IHL and then the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. He didn’t fare any better with the Wolves but the next two seasons with the Sound Tigers he progressively improved. He also saw 10 games of action with the Islanders in 2002-03 in which he was slightly better than his last NHL go around. He was called up for good the next season and posted a 2.36 GAA with a .911 SV%.The next three seasons he played 60+ games. The 2006-07 season was his best season and he recorded a career high five shutouts. In March of 2007 DiPietro suffered a concussion which him caused him to miss a few games but he was able to play most of the playoff games that season.

In the summer of 2007 he underwent hip surgery to repair a torn labrum but the next season during the All-Star Game competition in 2008 he injured his hip again. He played most of the rest of the season with his injury. The next two seasons the played a combined total of 13 games mostly due to knee related injuries, swelling and surgeries. This season he is back and presumed to be 100%. He has so far split the goaltending duties with Dwayne Roloson. He has not played well this season. In fact he only played well during a win against Tampa Bay and a loss against the Thrashers. Otherwise he has been mediocre at best. His current numbers are a 3.93 GAA and .870 SV%. DiPietro is still only 29 and has a good chance to play a decade or so if he can stay healthy. It’s important for the Islanders organization that he bounces back this year after all that time and money has been invested in him.

Fights of the Week

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Darcy Hordichuk vs. Shawn Thornton

Decent fight between these two, advantage Thornton.

Krys Barch vs. Colton Orr

A nice long fight that Orr clearly domaintes.

Kevin Westgarth vs. Chris Neil

Decent scrap despite Westgarth’s balancing issues.

Goats of the Week

Jaroslav Halak – St. Louis Blues

Even great goalies like Halak can make bad judgments from time to time, though if he wouldn’t have hit it accidentally for the 2^nd time it never would have went in. Mostly players are chosen as goats because their blunder cost their team the game. In this case, the Red Wings won by so much it didn’t really matter but I thought it deserved a mention anyway.

Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks

Perry tries to center the puck in the closing seconds of the game with the goalie pulled but ends up scoring a goal… into his own net, a good 200 feet away.

Things I like

1.Loved the high scoring affair that was Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia. I think we need to have games like that more often. It really showcases the awesomeness and excitement of the NHL. I’m not saying a defensive goalie duel isn’t exciting, it is, but this adds a different level of excitement. Too many games like that would be bad, as the fans would expect them too much.

2. Jerome Iginla has struggled mightily with the Flames so far this season. However since management has told him he wouldn’t have to wave his no trade clause, he has been on fire. I’m not sure why that would make a difference but I guess it has psychologically. Though if he and the Flames had started better, I don’t think the idea of trading him would have ever crossed their mind in the first place. Iginila has six goal in his last three games.

3. The 34 year old Milan Hejduk is on pace to have his best year since 2002-03. He is an integral part of the Avalanche’s offense and power play and brings much needed experience to the young Avalanche forwards.

4. Anytime you shutout the high scoring Capitals, except if your name is Jaroslav Halak, I think you deserve a special mention. So congratulations on making 30 saves goes to Johan Hedberg, a mostly career journeyman and the owner of a just below career .900 SV%.

Things I don’t

1. After the Blackhawks shed a few people off their roster, most notably Dustin Byfuglien, you would think the Canucks would have an easier time with the Hawks. But that is certainly not the case. After losing 2-1 in overtime to the Hawks earlier this year, Vancouver followed it up with an atrocious 7-1 loss at home. The Canucks were dominated in ever facet of the game except at the face-off circle. Not a good sign for the Canucks, especially if they have to meet the Blackhawks in the playoffs again.

2. Teams on the West Coast. The Canucks have lost their last four, the Kings have lost four of their last five, the Sharks have lost their last three and the Ducks have lost their last five. Maybe it’s something in the Pacific Ocean. I will admit the Kings received a couple of questionable calls against Ottawa.

3. After Ryan Smyth’s no goal because he was called for high sticking, I think it’s necessary the NHL invests in additional cameras so they can show more angles. I also think the NHL should grant each coach one challenge during the game. The idea was brought up during the GM meetings but was shot down. I think it’s time we had it. This challenge could be used for goals or penalty calls.

Stat Line of the Week

11/18/10 Tampa Bay 8 vs. Philadelphia 7

I suppose I could have picked a player form another game but I took the easy way out. Stamkos converted all three of his shots into goals for his 3^rd career hat trick. All of his goals were setup by nice passing by his Tampa Bay teammates. Stamkos is almost averaging a goal a game.

Did You Know?

In 1964-65, Red Wings’ Roger Crozier was the last goaltender to appear in all of his team’s games for an entire season. Crozier ended up playing in all but 33 minutes of the Red Wings 70 games that year. A feat that will surely never be done again in this day and age. Of course now they play 12 more games a season. Brodeur came pretty close a few years ago, having played in 78 games.

Numbers, Numbers

0 – Minus games for Toni Lydman thus far this season

0 – Regulation losses for the Blues at home

7.5 – The power play percentage of the Florida Panthers, dead last in the NHL

.945 – SV% of the Blues at Home, tied for 1^st in the NHL

.872 – SV% of the Blues on the Road, last in the NHL

4 – Shutouts by Cary Price in 20 games, the same number of shutouts he had the previous 3 seasons or 134 games

Quotes of the Week

“I don’t know what they were looking for.”

- LW Chris Kunitz, on word he received from officials on what the Toronto crew was looking for when they reviewed his goal in the third period Friday against Carolina.

“It always seems when I make a mistake, we pay for it somehow. I just can’t make those.”

- Sabres goalie Patrick Lalime on his costly turnover that led to Tampa Bay’s winning goal. “If we talk about that I’ll break down.”

Seeing as how you are the goalie, mistakes would be costly.

“I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. I’ve had a great life. I’ve been around a great sport. I didn’t want to be a celebrity, I just want to be myself.”

- Pat Burns, in the days before his death from terminal cancer.

You will be missed Pat Buns.

“What have you guys been doing for 10 years?”

- Blue Jackets coach Scott Arniel, when told by a staffer that Saturday’s win in San Jose was the franchise’s first regulation win in HP Pavilion.

This Week in Hockey History

Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.

November 18, 1979 Vancouver Canucks earned their first ever home victory over Montreal, 5-2. The win snapped a streak of 21 home games (0-15-6) without a win versus the Habs. Glen Hanlon stopped 34 of 36 shots for the win, the 4th straight for Vancouver.

November 19, 1998 Mike Keenan became just the sixth coach to record 500 career NHL victories, and Garth Snow recorded his 5th career shutout as Vancouver won 5-0 at Colorado, to end a 15-game winless streak against the Avalanche, (0-12-3 since December 1995).

November 20, 1988 Blackhawks retired the jerseys of goaltenders Glenn Hall (#1) and Tony Esposito (#35) in a pregame ceremony at Chicago Stadium. Hall had played 15 years in Chicago, and Esposito 10 years. Blackhawks lost 7-4 to the Canucks.

November 21, 1987 King Olav V of Norway watched from behind the Montreal bench, as the Canadiens beat the Devils 2-1 at the Forum. Bobby Smith and Chris Chelios each scored a goal and added an assist in the second period for Montreal.

November 22, 1983 Brian Sutter had five assists to set a new club record for assists in a game, as the Blues won 7-4 over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, to end a 6 game winless streak (0-4-2).

November 23, 1974 Goaltenders Rogie Vachon and Gary Inness traded shutouts as the Kings and the Penguins played to a 0-0 scoreless tie, at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. It was the 25th shutout of Vachon’s NHL career.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Detroit

2. Phoenix

3. Columbus

4. Philadelphia

5. Colorado

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Edmonton

28. Calgary

27. Anaheim

26. Carolina

This week we said goodbye to a hockey legend as Pat Burns finally lost his battle to cancer at the age of 58.

The three-time NHL coach of the year and Stanley Cup winner with the Devils in 2003 touched the lives of many owners, coaches and players of today.

He will be missed by everyone, and a special hats off in this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick for Coach Burns.

NOT SO STRONG ISLAND

The mess on Long Island has gone from bad to worse. Last week we had the inaugural NHL firing, as Scott Gordon was sent packing and Jack Capuano was named interim head coach. But that did not stop the bleeding, as the Islanders keep losing; 12 in a row now, and even their announcers do not want to watch them play.

So if the guy paid to watch them does not want to do that, how can Charles Wang expect fans to want to pay to see this club? Surprisingly, they have the second worst attendance, averaging 11,058 fans in their seven early home games. They can thank Phoenix and their ownership problems for not having the worst attendance; the Coyotes have averaged 10,265 fans in their eight early games.

You can look at the early injuries to top defenseman Mark Streit and scoring forward Kyle Okposo as signs that this season was going to be a tough one. Now the attention shifts to Capuano and whether this team can win a game.

I will be watching their games this week on Wednesday vs. the surprise Blue Jackets and Friday vs. the also struggling Devils and look for them to stop this extended and embarrassing losing streak.

WE ARE GOING STREAKING THE OTHER WAY

As the Islanders are going streaking backwards, their brethren at the bottom of the attendance rankings, the Phoenix Coyotes, have won six in a row. They have taken down the Blackhawks, Flames, Blues, Flames again, Oilers in a shootout and the Canucks.

They have made the streak interesting, as four of the games have been one-goal games. Ilya Bryzgalov has been standing tall for the Yotes, as he has five of those wins and a .924 save percentage during this streak.

Offensively, they have been winning without captain Shane Doan, who just returned Sunday from his lower body injury. Their big offseason acquisition Ray Whitney has been on fire with nine points during the streak.

With home games this week vs. the lowly Oilers on Tuesday and Friday with the Ducks, I will not only be looking to see if the Coyotes can keep this winning streak going, but I will also be looking to see if anyone will show up. This team proved the impossible last year as they fought for a playoff berth and will continue to do the same this year. Let’s just hope people in Glendale start caring.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

We have not gotten to do this feature in the Hat Trick yet this season because there has been so much to talk about, but this week we have a home series that I will be paying attention to. The Western Conference-leading Detroit Red Wings face the surprise Columbus Blue Jackets Friday in Columbus and then Sunday in the Motor City.

The Red Wings offense has been sizzling this year, as they lead the NHL with 3.67 goals per game. The Wings are being paced by the regulars of Pavel Datsyuk (22 points) and Henrik Zetterberg (20 points), but also some surprises like Dan Cleary’s nine goals and the good health of Johan Franzen (13 points in 17 games).

The hottest player in the NHL and this week’s NHL First Star of the Week is the Blue Jackets’ Rick Nash. The power forward had six goals this week, including two game-winning goals as Columbus won three straight on the West Coast. They gave the Kings their first home loss of the season and swept a three-game Pacific Coast road trip for the first time in franchise history.

I am sure these two hot teams and division opponents will produce two much-anticipated games this week. The Red Wings have dominated the series, winning 45 games, including five wins in six games last season, but with Columbus playing some of their best hockey, I will be watching to see if they can reverse that trend.