Only three teams have ever won the Pacific Division since the three division per conference re-alignment for the 1997-1998 NHL season. They are the Sharks, Ducks and Stars. The Coyotes and Kings both had remarkable seasons last year and both teams hope to build upon that success and perhaps clinch their first Pacific crown. This division also boasts two Stanley Cup wins in the past 12 years, with the Stars winning the cup during the 1998-99 season and the Ducks winning it during the 2006-07 season. Discounting overtime losses, each team in the Pacific was ten games over .500 at home except for the Kings and Coyotes who were nine over.

1.) San Jose Sharks

Rear-view Mirror: The Sharks rolled their way to a second straight Western Conference title and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2004. They then lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

The addition of Dany Heatley (39G-43A-82P) added to an already potent line consisting of Joe Thornton (20-69-89) and Patrick Marleau (44-39-83). On the backend Dan Boyle (15-43-58) paced the Sharks logging 26.12 of ice time per game, 4th in the league, and he was also 4th in the league for defensemen in scoring. The Sharks were the 4th highest scoring team in the league, they had the 4th best power play and the 5th best penalty kill at 85%.

Evgeni Nabokov recorded his best SV% (.922) of his ten year career and he also faced the most shots (2168) of his career. His GAA (2.43) was right around his career average but, along with backup Thomas Greiss , it was good enough as a team to finish 8th in the league.

In the playoffs the Sharks were led by Joe Pavelski (25-26-51) who had a breakout postseason with 17 points. A very welcome changed from a Sharks team that sometimes struggled to score in past postseasons. The Sharks pretty much owned the Avalanche peppering Craig Anderson with a barrage of shots. The series was only closer because of a few gaffes. The Sharks then almost swept the Red Wings pretty much demolishing them impressively. The Sharks run came to an end against the Blackhawks, where they seemingly couldn’t get much going. They were basically manhandled in the same way they manhandled their previous opponents.

Offseason Ins: Antero Niittymaki, Jamal Mayers, Antti Niemi

Offseason Outs: Evgeni Nabokov, Rob Blake (retired), Manny Malhotra

What Makes Them Tick: The Sharks are an experienced yet still somewhat youthful bunch. They have pretty much been through every scenario possible, except a Stanley Cup Final, while still being just below the average age for the league. They have two really talented scoring lines that rival any other teams. The Ryan Clowe (19-38-57), Pavelski and Devin Setaguchi (20-16-36) line is a great second option to the potent Thornton, Heatley and Marleau. Defensively Boyle will continue to log major minutes but expect Jason Demers to creep into more minutes. Demers just came off his 1st NHL season and along with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, both 23, they are the future of the Sharks defense. Vlasic led the Sharks in +/- with a +21. The Sharks were also the top faceoff team in the league, winning 55.6% of their faceoffs.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Sharks were looking to upgrade their goaltending, so the let Nabokov walk and signed experienced but somewhat unproven Antero Niittymaki. They also signed Antti Niemi to a one year deal. A great move for the Sharks but one that may become controversial. Niittymaki signed with the Sharks thinking he would be the number one goalie. While that may still be the case, the addition of Niemi certainly clouds that picture. Certainly the Sharks have upgraded their goalie tandem and how they utilize both will be interesting. Niittymaki only brings two games worth of playoff expereince to the table but Niemi brings 22 games and a Stanley Cup. Niemi is the first Sharks’ goalie to have won a Stanley Cup since Mike Vernon did so with the Flames. The Sharks must find a way to stay motivated throughout the season, even though they are only interested in the postseason. Losing Blake will be somewhat of a blow, with no other veteran acquired to take his place, but Demers and Vlasic should be more than capable to handle the load. They also need to cut down on turnovers, as they were the 5th worst in the league with 810 giveaways.

Player to Watch: Joe Thornton is in the last year of his deal you have to assume the Sharks would like to retain him for at least three more years to anchor the Marleau and Heatley line. Depending on how he preforms in the regular season and playoffs, he might price himself out of the Sharks budget. But in order for any team to want him, including the Sharks, he will need to step-up his game in the playoffs. This postseason he lead all players with a -11, a dubious distinction no player would ever want. This season and post season is a make or break, put up or shut up for Thornton.

Prediction: The Sharks hope to wrap up a 4th consecutive Pacific Division crown and a 5th consecutive 100+ point season. There really shouldn’t be any reason they won’t unless Niittymaki falters greatly. As always though, the Sharks season is measured but what they do or do not do in the playoffs. They didn’t really lose any significant pieces in the offseason other than Nabokov. However they have replaced him nicely with Niittymaki and Niemi. The Sharks have to hope that Dan Boyle does not suffer an extended injury as that would be a huge blow to the Sharks. The Sharks are once again early favorites to capture the Stanley Cup. Unlike prior seasons when this was the case, this version of the Sharks have learned enough mentally through past mistakes and have acquired the necessary goaltending pieces to make it into a reality.

2.) Los Angeles Kings

Rear-view Mirror: The Kings had their most successful season in awhile making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. They then lost to the Canucks in the 1st round in six games. During the regular season the Kings were one of only two teams, the Capitals were the other, that had eight players score 40 or more points each. The Kings were led by Anze Kopitar (34G-47A-81P) who set career highs in goals, assists, points, +/- and shots on goal. Kopitar also flirted with the league scoring title for a few weeks. Wayne Simmonds (16-24-40) in his 2nd season continued to develop into an all around player. While he was only 8th on the team in points, he almost doubled his point total from last season and he was 1st on the team in +/- with +22 and 2nd in PIM with 116.

On the defensive side Drew Doughty (16-43-59) emerged as one of the premier defensemen in the league and his hard work paid off with a Norris Trophy nomination in only his 2nd season. He was also second on the team in assists, +/- (+20) and points. Jonathan Quick became a workhorse goalie in his 2nd full season and played in 72 games, the 4th most of any goalie. None of Quick’s major stats (2.54 GAA, .907 SV%, 4 SO) were better than his previous season however.

Offseason Ins: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Willie Mitchell

Offseason Outs: Alexander Frolov, Sean O’Donnell, Randy Jones

What Makes Them Tick: The Kings boast an extremely talented and dynamic defensive group. Featuring young Olympians Doughty and Johnson paired with veterans Rob Scuderi and newly signed Willie Mitchell. With the young defensive stars having another year of NHL experience and the addition of another experienced veteran to learn off of, the Kings defense will only get better. Offensively the Kings have a very balanced attacked as alluded to above with eight players with 40+ points each. Kopitar almost had the breakout season everyone was expecting him too before he started to slump somewhat. He still had a great season but this year he should even top that. He should be a 100+ point player this season.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Kings will now have expectations for the first time in a long time. How they handle them mentally will determine how successful their season is. Kopitar will need to play more consistently as the Kings are 34-21 when he scores a point and 12-15 when he does not. Overworking Quick is also a potential problem discussed further below. The Kings could also work on turnovers, as they gave away the puck the 4th most with 815 giveaways.

Player to Watch: Jonathan Quick will be under a lot of pressure to preform this year, as the Kings have higher expectations. Quick faltered in the playoffs, where he had the 3rd worse (3.50) GAA and 3rd worse (.884) SV% of playoff goalies who stated at least four games. In order for the Kings to reach their full potential they must get good consistent goaltending from Quick. If Quick falters, the Kings do have a number of options. Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier are two such options. Bernier was sensational in the limited action he saw last season. It’s no doubt that the Kings view Quick, the third goalie on Team USA, as the long term option. It might be wise to play him less games this season, as fatigue was probably a big factor in his playoff slump and the Kings possess more than capable backups.

Prediction: The 6th youngest team in the league, the Kings are poised to improve upon last years balanced success. Frolov and O’Donnell are somewhat significant losses but it shouldn’t have much of an impact on a pretty deep team. O’Donnell is essentially replaced with the Mitchell signing anyway. The Kings should pretty much be a lock to make the playoffs. If Quick can improve his game and Kopitar can take his game to the next level, it’s very possible the Kings could win the division. With the available cap space, I wouldn’t be surprised the Kings add one or two veterans to make a strong playoff run during the season.

3.) Anaheim Ducks

Rear-view Mirror: The Ducks missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. A huge disappointment for a team that was a game away from making the Western Conference Finals the year before. Jonas Hiller emerged as the number one goalkeeper when the Ducks traded away fan favorite and former Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the Maple Leafs. Still he wasn’t as sharp as the year before and he had half as many shutouts (2) in 20 more games. In Scott Niedermayer’s swan song he showed that he still had it logging the 3rd most minutes per game in the league but he finished with his lowest +/- (-9) of his 18 year career.

Injuries also plagued the Ducks for most of the year. Ryan Getzlaf (19G-50A-69P) had various injuries at the beginning and end of the season and Teemu Selanne (27-21-48) broke his hand and then his jaw. Joffrey Lupul (10-4-14) started out the season playing in 23 games and fairly well until he had back problems that kept him out the rest of the season. Despite their injuries the Ducks managed to have the 5th best power play in the league, scoring on 21% of their chances.

Offseason Ins: Toni Lydman, Andy Sutton, Aaron Voros

Offseason Outs: James Wisniewski, Scott Niedermayer, Steve Eminger, Mike Brown

What Makes Them Tick: The re-signing of Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu (19-33-52) was a huge relief for the Ducks. Now if the Ducks can finally sign Bobby Ryan (35-29-64) and if Joffrey Lupul is healthy enough to play, the Ducks will be boast arguably the best top 6 forwards in the NHL. Even if Lupul can’t play the Ducks will still be loaded. The Getzlaf, Ryan and Corey Perry (27-49-76) line is one of the best in the league. There are also rumors of a reunion with former Duck and team captain Paul Kariya. But those rumors were squashed when Kariya announced he will need to sit out this season due to post-concussion syndrome. Hiller is still on of the top young goalies in the league. He had stretches where he just didn’t look that great last season. But as he has shown during the ouster of the Sharks in the 2009 playoffs and more recently with the Swiss Olympic team, Hiller is capable of raising his game to another level.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: Not signing Bobby Ryan would certainly be a huge blow but that’s unlikely to happen. Injuries and the defense were the downfall of the Ducks last season and it could very will be that way again. Keeping everyone healthy especially the 40 year old Selanne will be hard to do. GM Bob Murray decided to scrap the whole defense after Scott Niedermayer retired. It’s never easy for any team to lose a future hall of famer on defense two seasons in a row. The Ducks have now done that and are hoping the late season additions they made last year (Lubomir Visnovsky (15-30-45)) , coupled with the changes this offseason of Sutton and Lydman will yield them a competitive defense. The Ducks are always one of the most penalized teams in the league and last year was no exception. They racked up 16.1 PIM a game 3rd worst in the league. The Ducks faceoff winning percentage has been taking a tumble recently. They were 4th worst in the league at 48.1%.

Player to Watch: Ryan Getzlaf is an elite player who boasts a impressive resume. Among his accolades are All-Star appearances, Stanley Cup Champion, Olympic Gold medalist and World Juniors Gold medalist. However, he has yet to produce a 100 point season or more than 25 goals in a season. Now entering the prime of his career and his 6th full season, Getzlaf will be expected to step up his game and also his leadership role on the team. The team captaincy is currently vacant and Getzlaf, a current alternate captain, is the front runner to receive it. Other options include the only other former Ducks captain on the roster Teemu Selanne and current alternate captain and long time Canadiens captain Saku Koivu. If he stays healthy, this could very well be Getzlaf’s elite breakout year.

Prediction: The Ducks can easily go from a mid seeded playoff team to not making the playoffs at all. They will probably get in as the 7th or 8th seed. The forwards, especially the big guns, need to stay healthy, if they do that they will develop chemistry and score a lot of goals. On the back end Hiller needs to play better than he did last season. How the defense clicks will ultimately determine the fate of this team. Luca Sbisa, acquired in the Chris Pronger trade, will really need to develop into a top four defenseman in his first full season in the NHL. He played well for the Swiss Olympic team, this past Olympics, with teammate Hiller. Sbisa is also looking to score his first NHL goal. The addition of Sutton will give the Ducks a gritty defenseman who will hopefully rub off on the rest of the defenders. Sutton was 2nd in the league in blocked shots with 204 and 21st overall in hits with 197. Though the Ducks as a team are physical themselves, as they finished 7th in the league in hits with 2050. But they could certainly use the help with blocked shots, as they were the 2nd worst in the league with 943.

4.) Phoenix Coyotes

Rear-view Mirror: The Coyotes had what you would call a magical season last year. They started the season unsure of whether they would stay in Phoenix and as such played to mostly empty arenas. But by the end of the season, they had flirted with the Western Conference’s best record, made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, recorded their first ever 100+ point season and played to packed “white out” crowds. Despite losing to the Red Wings in seven games in the 1st round of the playoffs, Phoenix accomplished a lot as a team and proved that hockey could make it in the desert.

Ilya Bryzgalov (2.29 GAA, .920 SV%) finally became a household name with his breakout season. He was 2nd in the league in shutouts (8), 3rd in wins (42) and he received a Vezina nomination. He helped the Coyotes to the 3rd best team GAA (2.39) in the NHL.

The Coyotes were an offensively challenged team, ranking near the bottom in goals scored. Shane Doan (18G-37A-55P) lead the Coyotes in points. Only the Bruins had a team leader with less points and the Maple Leafs leader (Phil Kessel) also had 55 points. Radim Vrbata (24-19-43) lead the team in goals, the only player on the Coyotes to crack the 20 goal plateau. On the backend Ed Jovanovski (10-24-34) and Zbynek Michalek (3-14-17) formed a formidable defensive one two punch.

Offseason Ins: Ray Whitney, Andrew Ebbett

Offseason Outs: Zbynek Michalek, Matthew Lombardi, Daniel Winnik, Lee Stempniak

What Makes Them Tick: Not really having a go to guy on the team means that opponents can’t really zero in on any one player to disrupt the flow of the team. Everyone chips in with their blue collar approach. The Coyotes do well in the shootout, where they had the most wins of any team at 14 and one of the higher winning percentages. They are a well disciplined team coming in with the 7th least PIM a game with 11.3. They also had the 2nd least amount of giveaways with 420. Wojtek Wolski (23-42-65) will now move to the center position and anchor the top line with Doan and Ray Whitney (21-37-58). Of course Ilya Bryzgalov is their biggest strength. Look for him to have another phenomenal season.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Coyotes didn’t really add enough players to make themselves a stronger contender in a very tough western conference. The offensive struggles of the Coyotes will more than likely continue which is not something you can realistically get away with two years in a row. Last season the Coyotes had the 3rd worst power play in the league but they did have the 6th best penalty kill. The addition of 18 year veteran Whitney will help, provided he can still prove his has some gas left in the tank. Michalek and his 9th best 156 blocked shots are also gone.

Player to Watch: Wojtek Wolski was the big acquisition last year by the Coyotes who gave up Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter. At the time it seemed like a steal, with Mueller struggling to fit in the with the Coyotes. However, Mueller flourished in the few games he played with the Avalanche and nobody is quite sure what the young Porter will develop into. The pressure is now on Wolski to have his break out season, especially on an offensively challenged team. Last season he set career highs in goals (23), assists (42) and points (65). Look for him to push towards a 30 goal 80 point season.

Prediction: It’s hard to imagine the Coyotes duplicating last years success. Teams will now take them as more of a threat. Key players like Doan and Jovanovski are now each a year older. The loss of Michalek will hurt the Coyotes without anyone really brought in to take his place. Still if any team can make it work and make a run for the playoffs the Coyotes could. Last year at this time things looked even bleaker for them. Kyle Turris the 3rd overall pick in the 2007 draft should see even more playing time this year. He is still low on the depth chart currently but could creep up fast. The Coyotes are also bullish on 8th overall pick of the 2008 draft Mikkel Boedker who only played in 14 games last season. How well these young guns can be integrated into the Coyotes, will determine their playoff fate.

5.) Dallas Stars:

Rear-view Mirror: After five consecutive seasons of making the playoffs, the Stars are currently on a two season streak of not making them. After an injury plagued year, Brad Richards (24G-67A-91P) played his first full season in a Stars jersey and lead them in assists and points. Defenseman Stephane Robidas (10-31-41) continued his exceptional level of play. He was 7th in the league in blocked shots (177) and 4th in the league in hits (269) but 1st overall for defensemen. Loui Eriksson (29-42-71) led the Stars in goals and was 2nd in points.

Marty Turco’s GAA (2.72) and SO (4) were pretty average but he had his best SV% (.913) since 2004. The Stars actually finished last in the Pacific Division for the first time since the NHL switched to the the three division format in the 1998-99 season.

Offseason Ins: Andrew Raycroft, Adam Burish, Brad Lukowich

Offseason Outs: Mike Modano, Marty Turco

What Makes Them Tick: The Stars are a very physical and great checking team. The lead the NHL in hits last season with 2338. Loui Eriksson is just coming into his prime and he should be able to produce another 30+ goal season. Paired with a healthy Brad Richards and gritty veteran and team captain Brenden Morrow (20-26-46) they make a formidable 1st line. The Stars have a lot of free cap space, so they should be in the market to make other improvements. Defenseman Mark Fistric (1-9-10) finished 4th in the league in +/- with a + 27.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: Kari Lehtonen is so far penciled in to be the starting goalie. Lehtonen is now entering his 7th season in the NHL and while he has played well, it’s nothing exceptional that you would want in your number one goalie in this day and age. So while he is not a bad option, he is probably only temporary anyway. The Stars have a few young goalie prospects that could come up this season or next. They include 2006 pick Richard Bachman, 2008 pick Tyler Beskorowany and the 11th pick overall in the 2010 draft Jack Campbell. Despite their physical nature of style, the Stars ended up with the 4th worst penalty kill. Like the Ducks, the Stars also struggle with faceoffs coming in at the 5th worst with 48.1%

Player to Watch: Jamie Benn was a relative unknown last season taken in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. However he was a standout player for the Kelowna Rockets in the WHL and was named to the all-star first team his last year there. He also helped Team Canada win a Gold at the 2009 World Junior Championships. Benn found a home on the 2nd line with the Stars in his first NHL season. He produced 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points and 3 game winning goals tied for 3rd on the team. Look for more out of Benn in his 2nd season. He has the potential to be a consistent 30+ goal scorer.

Prediction: It’s a transition season for Dallas as the team shed two veterans (Turco, Modano) who most identified as the faces of the franchise. Playing in a fairly strong division it is not likely the Stars will make the playoffs and they seem destined for last place for the 2nd year in a row. However the Stars didn’t miss the last playoff spot by much, like a lot of teams out West. They still boast two impressive scoring lines and one of the top defenseman in the league in Robidas. The team certainly is not an easy win especially in Dallas. If Lehtonen or one of the young prospects can perform well in goal, anything is possible.

Teemu Selanne has officially rejoined the Ducks for another season at an estimated 3.25 million a year. It’s not really surprising that Selanne, coming off one of his best seasons ever despite battling injuries, would return. What’s more surprising is that he hinted in a Finnish newspaper that he wouldn’t mind playing for another two seasons. A strange statement from a player who retired after the Ducks won the Cup in 2007 only to un-retire and play the reaming 26 games of the season. Selanne has pretty much pulled a Brett Favre ever since then with his constant waffling on whether he will return or not for the following season. He at least has stuck to his word and is less dramatic about it. Additionally, the Finnish Flash has also hinted many times about his desire to be reunited with Paul Kariya. Selanne and Kariya were teammates with the Ducks from 1995-96 to 2000-01. They were briefly reunited with the Colorado Avalanche during the 2003-04 season, before going their separate ways again.

Though Kariya and the Ducks last go around did not end well, I always believe time heals all wounds. The Ducks have plenty of cap space to sign Kariya. It would be interesting to see if they will though, mostly because the Ducks are currently looking at a log jam at the forward position. A Kariya addition would only further clog it. Still it looks likely the Ducks will sign the free agent Kariya, especially if Selanne pushes for it.

As for the defense, General Manger Bob Murray continues to try and make it over. At the end of the 2008-09 season, the Ducks had made strong moves to have a top four of Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski. Three of the four went on to win Olympic medals. But now none remain. Pronger was dealt to Philadelphia because it was too expensive to keep him and Niedermayer and the Ducks were also looking to bolster their forwards, ironically something they now have too much of. Given that Niedermayer retired a few months ago, it might have been smarter to have kept Pronger and then either have traded Niedermayer (sacrilegious I know) or signed him to a really low offer, like they did with Selanne in the past. Whitney was traded for another Olympian in Lubomir Visnovsky who is a much better fit in the current Ducks system. The real head scratcher to all of this though is trading Wisniewski.

After the trade I was furious because I like the way Wisniewski plays. While still green in certain areas, he has a great upside and is only 26. Apparently after being rewarded more money in arbitration, the sticking point between Murray and Wisniewski was contract length. Murray said he offered Wiz a good four year deal that was not accepted. I can understand Murray not wanting to have to keep peddling out one and two year deals, so if Wiz doesn’t want to be here long term then you have to do what you have to do. My main problem is they traded him to the Islanders for basically next to nothing. A 3^rd round pick in the next draft is hardly worth anything. More importantly it does nothing to help the Ducks currently as they give up one of their top defenseman for no defenseman in return. Murray says he has other things up his sleeve. He most certainly better, though it’s hard to imagine what that would be as most of the good defensemen are already gone.

The mostly likely scenario is that Murray raids the Canucks and their plethora of defensemen. The Canucks currently have nine D-men under contract, certainly way more than you need. At the top of Murray’s hit list is Kevin Bieksa who is signed only through the end of this year. The Ducks seem to be the front runner for Bieksa’s services but as more time drags on, one wonders if Murray will be able to put together a deal in order to acquire him. Currently the Ducks have three starters penciled in Visnovsky, Sheldon Brookbank and Toni Lydman. Andy Sutton, formerly of the Ottawa Senators, was also acquired but it’s not likely he will make the top six but you never know. Murray had said he was interested in leaving the last two spots open for the young talent. Other than Luca Sbisa, it’s highly unlikely any of the other young talent would be ready to step in. Here’s hoping that Murray is able to find another quality defenseman soon, also stayed tuned for any Kariya news.

People said that hockey would never make it in Southern California. It’s too warm, they don’t even have a winter. Well tell that to the packed house at Anaheim Ice who came in on a Saturday evening on the final day of prospects camp to watch a friendly scrimmage game between players who will more then likely not make the team this season. California hockey is alive and well so much so that two 1^st rounders at this years NHL draft were born and raised in the area. Current Duck 1^st round draft choices Cam Fowler and Californian Emerson Etem were at prospects camp. Late rounder Devante Smith-Pelly as well as previous years picks Peter Holland, Justin Schultz, Jake Gardiner, Ryan Hegarty, Nicolas Deschamps, Matt Clark, Scott Valentine and Justin Vaive to name a few. Also on hand was fan favorite Dan “Big Sexy” Sexton. The game ended 8-5 (including an empty netter) but it was a lot closer than it seemed.

The White team (guest) was led by Dan Sexton and Emerson Etem and the Black team (home) was led by Devante Smith-Pelly and Cam Fowler. The White team simple dominated the first 10 minutes of play as the puck was always in the Black end. But wouldn’t you know it the Black team led 2-1 after 10 minutes, basically converting on their only two scoring opportunities. The rest of the game was about even. Goaltending in this game was average at best, to put it nicely. Other than a couple of nice saves it wasn’t pretty. Despite being a mostly friendly game, there were a handful of really great hits. Justin Vaive, who had a few hits, is one big guy coming in at 6’5” and around 210 pounds. He could eventually replace George Parros as the enforcer on the Ducks. He would also bring a more offensive upside to the team than Parros does. Devante Smith-Pelly was a force around the net, hitting people and scoring. The star of the scrimmage and the only player that I can say for certain will be on the opening day roster is Dan Sexton. He was everywhere on the ice and had some nice slap shots and passes. He also scored I believe one goal. I particularly loved his heart and enthusiasm that in a pretty much meaningless scrimmage game, he was banging his stick on the ice in frustration on a missed play. All in all a great game and the Ducks have selected and signed a nice assortment of young players.

Let’s take a look at the possible opening day Ducks roster. The biggest question mark for the Ducks is obviously on defense. Just two years ago the top defensive pair boasted future hall of famers Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. Now with both gone, it’s time for the Ducks to turn a new page on the defensive end. The old men of the group are 10 year vets Lubomir Visnovsky and Toni Lydman. Visnovsky will assume the leadership rule of the defensive unit and Lydman while a great talent, was probably brought in more to coax Teemu Selanne into playing another year. Next is where the real question marks begin. The next spot up for grabs would more than likely be filled by James Wisniewski, who is headed for arbitration for the second year in a row. More than likely that will go well and he will be back. The 4^th spot is more than likely going to go to Sheldon Brookbank who hasn’t really impressed me all that much in his short career. But maybe increased playing time and responsibility will improve his game. The last two spots are up for grabs. It’s rumored and a likely possibility that Luca Sbisa will get one of the remaining spots. Sbisa acquired in the Pronger trade, played eight games for the Ducks before being sent down. Coach Carlyle had wanted Sbisa to receive the maximum amount of playing time possible to further his development which he was not going to get in the Ducks lineup. With Niedermayer retired and the Ducks looking to shake things up, Sbisa should be ready to help fill the void. He was conspicuously absent from prospect camp, which I thought was quite odd. Hopefully this means the Ducks think he’s ready and he will definitely be in the starting six. I don’t think top draft pick Cam Fowler will be ready to grab the last spot so the ducks will more than likely look to acquire another player. There’s always Brett Festerling but I sure hope not.

Offensively, if things go correctly, you could be look at the most stacked offensive collection ever assembled on the Ducks and rivaling some of the all time great NHL teams. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry will return the question is will Bobby Ryan join them? Ryan and the Ducks have hit a standstill in their contract talks but eventually I have hope that it will work itself out. On the second line we may possibly see one of the best second lines ever. Saku Koivu is the only definite coming back to anchor the line. On the one side you could have future hall of famer and 600 goal scorer Teemu Selanne, who I think will come back. On the other side you could have Joffrey Lupul who skated for the first time in a long time the other week. His back looks like it may be fully recovered in time for the start of the season. I know the Ducks and Lupul both hope that it is. Underrated Todd Marchant would anchor the third line with probably Dan Sexton and Jason Blake. The 4^th line is anyone’s guest at this point, until the Ducks management finishes making the roster. But the top three possible lines would give any opposing netminder and defense fits.

The goalie tandem of Jonas Hiller and Curtis McElhinney are as solid as they come. I believe McElhinney is an improvement over former back-up Justin Pogge, though Pogge never really played. I really think that Hiller will bounce from a fairly average year from him. After tearing it up in the Olympics most of that momentum carried over down the stretch for the Ducks. With the number one spot now firmly his and lower expectations coming into this season than last years, I think pressure will be a lot lower for Hiller and his focus will be a lot higher. I am looking forward to the Ducks getting better team chemistry and making a deep run into the playoffs.

Below are a few images from the scrimmage.

As you sit there in your favorite team jersey waiting for it to be October, let’s recap and vote on our favorite moments on the season that was. The 2009-10 NHL season was one of the most thrilling ever, featuring a Stanley Cup playoff race that was wide open. The 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs smashed many ratings records on the way to crowning the Chicago Blackhawks as Stanley Cup champions. Most, if not all, of the twitter tending topics that night were NHL related. Hockey is definitely on an upswing. Some of the points below I didn’t go into as much detail as I would like to have. However, I already wrote about most of it in previous columns, so sometimes it’s hard to re-write. There’s a lot to read and videos to watch, so I hope you enjoy it! (Trust me when I say it’s really long)

To break this article down, in the first part I recap the season of the Stanley Cup Champions, then I go into the biggest surprises, disappointments and awards of the season and other miscellaneous stuff. I end it with voting for the goat and the fight of the season, compiled from the best of those during the regular season from my weekly Between the Pipes column. Which I hope you all come back to read next season.

The 2009-10 Stanley Cup Champions

Chicago Blackhawks

What an unusual season it was for the Chicago Blackhawks. Their offseason certainly wasn’t boring. First you have Marian Hossa signing a huge contract worth 62.8 million dollars over 12 years. That alone brings up many questions like won’t he be 42 by the end of it? How do you even know how he will perform towards the end of the contract? Then the good/bad of the signing, Hossa wanted to play for a contending team and he viewed the Blackhawks as the team with the best chance to do so. Well that’s great but then you wonder, didn’t he think that with the Penguins and the Red Wings as well? How did that turn out? Next up you have Patrick Kane and his cousin assaulting a cab driver for 20 cents. Wait he what? There’s nothing like having one of your top players being involved in a ridiculous incident like that. Still the Blackhawks pressed on and opened the season a talented loaded team with one huge albatross around their neck, what about your goaltending?

Cristobal Huet was the number one goaltender by default, despite not being the number one last season, because the Blackhawks didn’t have enough money to sign Nikolai Khabibulin. As the starting goalie, Huet certainly didn’t make the regular season boring. First you had his 25.29 GAA average against the Flames in October, where he gave up three goals on five shots in seven minutes. Though to speak to the resiliency of the Blackhawks this season, Niemi actually came in and gave up two more goals in the 1^st period to put the Blackhawks in a 0-5 hole at intermission. But the Blackhawks ended up scoring six unanswered goals to win the game in overtime. Then there was the game against the Stars in which Huet gave up four goals on ten shots. Finally he gave up 14 goals over a span of three games, when the Blackhawks finally said the hell with this and made Antti Niemi the starting goalie. He did have some high points, putting together a seven game win streak and posting four shutouts. But he will mostly be remembered for plays like this:

Despite their goaltending issues, Chicago came within one point of the best record in the West. They boasted a balanced scoring attack with six players each having 20+ goal seasons. They also boasted one of the top defensive pairs in the league in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Antti Niemi started to develop into a number one netminder, hopefully vanquishing the albatross in the process.

The Blackhawks opened the 1^st round of the playoffs against the perennial stepping stone Nashville Predators. The Blackhawks lost the 1^st game at home and then the 3^rd game on the road to find themselves in a 1-2 hole. They seemed disinterested in the series and they weren’t getting the basics right. They managed to win Game 4 but then Game 5 happened. Game 5 was the kind of game that everything just went right, even when things looked bleak. It was the turning point of the series and the Blackhawks season. It was the game in which the Blackhawks got their swagger back. Let’s set the stage. Down in the important Game 5, 4-3, in the final minutes the Blackhawks try a final push only to have Marian Hossa get called for boarding. It appeared that Hossa was already working his curse magic. Instead it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the inexperienced Predators played aggressive on the power play, looking for the kill goal. The Blackhawks were able to get a lucky bounce on the rebound and storm the other way and then pull their goalie to make it five on five. Then in some eerie foreshadowing, Patrick Kane scored the game tying goal off of a rebound in what would be his second most important goal of the playoffs.

After opening the overtime period shorthanded the Blackhawks ended up in the Predators zone and Hossa jumps out of the box and sets up right where Patrick Kane scored the previous goal. The puck once again took a fortuitous bounce and Hossa capped off the impromptu comeback.

In the decisive Game 6 you could tell it would be the Blackhawks year after Brent Seabrook gets an unexpected goal against Pekka Rinne.

From there it was the highly anticipated rematch with the Vancouver Canucks. Personally I found the series to be disappointing, as most of the games were pretty one sided. It had some comical moments though, like when the Canucks self destructed in Game 5 and committed four penalties in the span of four minutes and 40 seconds. There was also Roberto Luongo being himself hot, a 1.00 GAA in the two Canucks wins and cold, 5.25 GAA in the four losses. The soon to be Conn Smythe winner, Jonathan Toews was simply sensational against the Canucks. He was also in the midst of a 13 game point streak in which he amassed 25 of his 29 points.

Next was the highly anticipated match-up between the number one seeded Sharks. The win total of the two teams far surpassed any of the other match-ups in the 2010 playoffs. Oddly enough, it was also the only sweep of the playoffs. I’ll write more about it below in the disappointing section.

Then it was onward to the Blackhawks first Stanley Cup appearance in 49 years to face the Philadelphia Flyers and their 35 year drought. The series was very good and each game had a point in the 3^rd period, except for Game 5, where there was only a one goal differential. I don’t know about you but that’s hockey I want to see. Nobody on the Blackhawks had a truly remarkable series. They won as a team as it should be in hockey, the ultimate team sport. Some players did have remarkable games though, as Dustin Byfuglien did in Game 5 and Patrick Kane did in Game 6. The thing I love most about hockey is watching each player on the team hoist the Stanley Cup and skate around with it. You don’t see anything else like that in any other sport, period. Just the player, the Stanley Cup and the moment. It’s something every player in the NHL hopes to achieve but very few get too. An experience so awesome that it brings tears to those that didn’t get to achieve it, like Jeremy Roenick the great Blackhawk for eight seasons and 20 NHL seasons overall.

You shouldn’t be surprised that the Blackhawks won the series, as we still haven’t had a team with a regular season goal differential of less than a +25 win the cup in the past 20 years, maybe longer (This is my favorite hockey stat). The Flyers had no chance with their +11. It also wasn’t all bad for Huet. As many of you know, Niemi was the first Finnish goalie to win the Cup. Despite not really playing, Huet was also the first Frenchman to win the Cup. Here are some of the Blackhawks celebrating with Jay Leno, gag.

Finally for shits and giggles here are some of the best user comments on Yahoo by fans after the Blackhawks were down 1-2 to the Predators after their Game 3 loss.

A Yahoo! User Thu Apr 22, 2010 03:02 pm PDT

“I can’t wait next year for the Hawks 50 year anniversary since the last cup we won! We’re not gonna win it this year cause we won’t get out of the 1st round but when they bring those guys from the 1961 cup team come out on their rascals i will stand up and salute them. I hope they make snow tires for rascals. Maybe the Caps will let us borrow the cup next year for the ceremony. We probably won’t make the playoffs next year with a new coach and we play in a division with the Red Wings, Preds, (who are embarassing us) and the Blues and Jackets will be better next year so we might be last in the central. I also can’t wait to hang that central division banner next year. The Caps can have the cup we have the central division! That’s most important.” (This guy feels really stupid right now)

tom c Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:40 am PDT

“I don’t care who wins the cup if Detroit doesnt all I do know is it won’t be CHICAGO….1961…hahaha. Get used to it and the Wings will win another cup or two before you do if ever again…Love hossa now don’t ya…”

Biggest Surprises/Best of the Year

Teams

Phoenix Coyotes – How many of you had the Coyotes getting home ice in the 1^st round and then coming within a game of knocking off the perennial contending Red Wings? Nope nobody did and if you said you did, you’re lying. Apparently Wayne Gretzky was holding them back. Kidding aside this plucky group gave it their all. They even did it with the possibility of being sold at any moment during the season and having to possibly relocate at the end of the season. Ilya Bryzgalov, who had a few previous outstanding seasons, finally became a somewhat household name. He was 2^nd in the league with eight shutouts and he was nominated for the Vezina Trophy. The rest of the squad collectively overachieved. Shane Doan was the leading scorer with a whopping 55 points and only one other player had over 50 points (Matthew Lombardi). Radim Vrbata was the only Coyote to have over 20 goals during the season with 24. Despite losing in the 1^st round, the season was definitely something to build on. More importantly it may have finally sold hockey in the Phoenix desert.

Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens magic season can be summed up with two words, Jaroslav Halak. If it wasn’t for his emergence the Canadiens would have had just another 1^st round exit. But he did emerge out of the shadow of Carey Price. I’ll admit Carey Price doesn’t cast a very large shadow but Halak had mostly been his backup until this year when they evenly split time in the regular season. Come the playoffs Halak was named the starter but he really didn’t flourish until after he was benched for Game 4 and then he came back with a vengeance. He even faced 134 shots over a three game span against the Capitals, not an easy task. It wasn’t all Halak though, Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec led the Canadiens offensively in the regular season and postseason. Though Gionta and Cammalleri combined for almost half of the 46 postseason goal total with 22 goals. There was also the emergence of P.K Subban who stepped in for the injured Andrei Markov and perhaps even surpassed his level of play. Subban was loved in Montreal for his hustle, determination and skill and hated everywhere else for his big mouth. The 2009-10 Canadiens returned the storied franchise to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1993. Even a 1^st round series win is celebrated like they just won the Stanley Cup in Montreal. I’ll leave with two videos, one the crazy but tame celebration and one not so tame.

Best Game 7

Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadiens

I can’t think of a game that had me at the edge of the seat like this one, in quite some time. Despite the Canadiens winning the previous two games, I didn’t really give them much of a chance. First you had the Canadiens taking the early 1-0 lead on the power play, just 30 seconds into the game. But it was still early and the Capitals had plenty of time to come back. Only after the second intermission it was still 1-0 and then you start to wonder, maybe the Canadiens can pull it off. When Montreal scored with about four minutes left in the game to take a 2-0 lead, you realized you were watching history in the making. About a minute and a half later the Capitals finally score to cut it to 2-1 and then you think maybe they can come back. All you know is the final two minutes would be the most intense you’ve ever seen in your life. Then Montreal gets called for a penalty to make 5 on 4. The Capitals pull their goalie to make it a 6 on 4 and you think surely the number 1 offensive team can score a goal with a two man advantage to save their season. But no Halak comes up huge the time runs out and see Alex Ovechkin slumped over to end another season. Relive the final two minutes here.

Best Series

This one was really hard for me to pick so I decided I’ll name four and you can vote. I didn’t include the Stanley Cup Finals because well it’s the Stanley Cup Finals so it would be memorable even if it sucked, which in this case it did not.

Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings

This was an awesome series that we were sadly deprived of a Game 7. It featured lots of open ice action, some high scoring and sometimes some great saves. Watching Doughty shut down the Sedin twins was also great to watch.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Phoenix Coyotes

This series was also great. The enthusiasm in the Jobing.com Arena (dumb name) was awesome and Detroit matched it. There was a ton of open ice as well in this series and high scoring. Game 7 took a little bit of the luster off of the series. Favorite moment is the Shane Doan face after his Game 2 goal, who could ever forget that.

Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Game 1 was truly spectacular and featured a lot of pretty goals and an overtime win. Game 4 featured the same 5-4 score as Game 1 and another overtime. This series will mostly be remembered for the Flyers and their great series comeback and never give up attitude.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Hard to pick this series over the Canadiens vs. Capitals series but I did because you didn’t really know what you were witnessing at that point, plus I missed a lot of the games because there were so many other series going on. Other than Game 7 (more on that below) I thought this series was pretty evenly matched with great intensity and an always great Montreal crowd. Just love that atmosphere in the Bell Centre.

Biggest Disappointments/Worst of the Year

Teams

Anaheim Ducks – After coming within a game of the Western Conference Finals last season, Anaheim made the off season trade of sending Chris Pronger to the Flyers for Joffrey Lupul and Luca Sbisa. They had hoped to bolster their offense while securing another blueliner of the future for Pronger. They felt the addition of Lupul coupled with the signing of Saku Koivu would give them the offense they needed in order to make another run at the cup. Unfortunately while that looked great on paper, absolutely nothing worked out for the Ducks. Sbisa, while he will probably be on the Ducks blueline for the next decade, at only 19 was not ready for the big leagues especially with the crowded Ducks defenseman corp; he wouldn’t have cracked the top two pairs. Coach Carlyle felt it was important Sbisa received playing time, so down to the minors to dominate he went. Lupul was reunited with the team that drafted him but a happy reunion it was not meant to be. He ended up playing in only 23 games and was out the rest of the year with back spasms and a subsequent herniated disk surgery. While in the long run the trade might look kindly on the Ducks, they essentially traded Pronger and received nothing in return.

Koivu and Teemu Selanne, Team Finland linemates, never really developed the chemistry the team was hoping for when they acquired Koivu. Selanne also suffered two of his worst injuries in his career almost in succession, further dampening the Ducks hopes of a potent second line. Towards the last few weeks of the season, the duo finally blossomed and showed their potential but it was to late. But give credit where it’s due, Koivu was the Ducks MVP for the last two weeks racking up 11 points in the final five games. On the back-end the defensive core seemed to be okay with the trade of Pronger because the Ducks had acquired James Wisniewski and Ryan Whitney last season. Wisniewski played adequately but found himself suspended a few times, causing the group to not be at full strength. Ryan Whitney did not fit in well, especially at the power play point where the Ducks had hoped he would fill Pronger’s skates. He did not and the Oilers and Ducks swapped Olympians with the Ducks receiving Lubomir Visnovsky (further giving me another beyond complicated name to type when I recap the past weeks Anaheim Ducks games). Lack of chemistry and injuries really were the downfall of the Ducks. Next year looks promising though if they can bring back all of the key players next season.

Washington Capitals – There’s an old adage that goes “defense wins championships”. Apparently the Capitals have never heard of it. Coasting through the regular season playing in the weakest division and racking up goals like nobody’s business, these Capitals seemed destined for great things. They were the Goliath of the NHL. But unfortunately for the Capitals, there was also a David lurking named the Montreal Canadiens and their mighty stone Jaroslav Halak. Now don’t get me wrong the Capitals had a 3-1 series lead at one point, so it’s not like they played horribly throughout. It’s just when you play four series in three seasons and they all go to even games and you only win one of them, people start to wonder many things. I don’t blame the Capitals for only getting three goals by Halak in games five, six and seven, because lets face it, the line of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull in their primes probably wouldn’t have scored any more goals either. I more concerned with their lack of heart and their willingness to do whatever it takes to win. I’m also concerned with their defense. Mike Green is probably the premier offensive defenseman in the league but he’s nowhere near the top of defensive defenseman in the league. That’s really where the Capitals need him to be. He just completed his fourth season though, so barring something drastic on his part I really don’t think he will improve. The NHL really needs to do him a favor and stop nominating him for Norris Trophies he doesn’t deserve. The Capitals need to acquire better defensive talent and they need to become a more dynamic offensive team. I will give props to Semyon Varlamov who had a pretty good postseason. Unfortunately not many noticed it. Who knows though, the Sharks had a 1^st round exit last year and made it to the Conference Finals this year. The same could happen to the Capitals.

Worst Game 7

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens

This Game 7 was somewhat reminiscent of last years 2^nd round game between the Penguins and Capitals in which the Penguins destroyed the Capitals 6-2 in the 2^nd round in a hugely disappointing game as well. This time the Penguins were on the losing end. I’m still not really sure how the defending Champions would show up so flat footed at home, but they did. They lost the game 5-2 and were even down in the 2^nd at one point 0-4, yikes. As awesome as this series was, and it was one of the best of the playoffs, this game couldn’t have been anymore anticlimactic. It also showcased none of the things that made the series great, other than Halak playing well again. Marc-Andre Fleury was awful, the Penguins defense was awful, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had no points and the game wasn’t close.

Worst Series

Chicago Blackhawks vs. San Jose Sharks

I alluded to it in the Blackhawks season recap but this certainly was the most disappointing series in some time. Normally you don’t get the 1 vs. 2 match-up very often and considering what we got in the East, I expected so much more from this series. The Sharks had just come off a dismantling of the Detroit Red Wings and the Blackhawks looked strong coming off their Canucks series win. Now none of the final scores had more than a two goal win but you just got the vibe the whole series that the Sharks didn’t have much of a chance, especially after they dropped the first two games at home. The score in those games were a lot closer than the game actually was. Nobody on the Sharks came to play except Patrick Marleau and they never scored more than two goals in a game. You can’t expect to win the series when you average 1.75 goals a game in the series. The Sharks also took a bunch of dumb penalties in Game 4 when it was tied 2-2, basically handing the game to the Blackhawks on a silver platter. Evgeni Nabokov didn’t play well and now I hear the Sharks want to resign him, yikes. He’s a regular season goalie, not a playoffs goalie.

Miscellaneous

Can only happen in hockey

Duncan Keith loses seven teeth – Duncan Keith, or how he’s referred to on the internet Duncan Teeth, showed the world just how tough hockey players are. While trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone on the power play, Keith took a puck to his face from a clearing attempt by Patrick Marleau. Marleau ended up scoring a breakaway goal because Keith was taken out of the play. But showing the true hockey player that he is, Keith returned to the game minutes later. Here’s a nice video on the play and what happened afterwards.

You’ve got to be kidding me

The Philadelphia Flyers come back from an 0-3 series deficit – This feet was made all the more impressive by the fact that they only got into the playoffs on a shootout win in the final game of the season against the New York Rangers. But the Flyers became only the third team in NHL history to comeback, joining the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. Not only did they come back down from 0-3 in the series, they also came back down 0-3 in Game 7. Not to mention they had to switch stating goalies in the middle of the series due to injury and they lost their 2^nd leading scorer, Jeff Carter, for a month due to injury. I can’t think of a team that had to battle so much to get so far. Many thought this might be a team of destiny but their destiny ran out in the Stanley Cup Finals. Special acknowledgment goes to Danny Briere for leading the whole NHL in postseason scoring and for having some pretty goals along the way.

Iron Man Award

Craig Anderson – Now here’s a guy that had never been a starter in the league before or played in more than 31 games. He played in 71 games this season for the Colorado Avalanche, almost the same amount of games he played combined in his first five years in the league. He didn’t stop there, as he faced the most shots of any goalie during the regular season with 2233. He was one of the primary reasons the Avalanche rebounded so quickly. In the playoffs he faced the highest shot total of any goalie to play six games and sometimes he faced more than those with a few more games played than him. He finished the playoffs with the highest SV% at .933. Here’s hoping he can keep up the pace next year.

Team on the Rise

Los Angeles Kings – Something is brewing in Los Angeles and it isn’t the latest motion picture. It’s the first legit team the Kings have put together since Wayne Gretzky left town. They’re a young and deep talented team. Anze Kopitar at only 22 has seemingly blossomed into an elite player leading the league in scoring for a good chunk of the time. He did severely cool off towards the end of the season. However, I think this season was just a little preview of what’s to come. The Kings have a great pair of young defenseman in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Doughty is something truly special and his skilled were acknowledged with the Norris Trophy nomination. While I don’t think he will win it this year, my vote is on Duncan Keith, I think Doughty might dominate the award in the future like Bobby Orr, Raymond Bourque and Nicklas Lidstrom have in the past. Doughty was simply sensational in the Canucks series. How quickly the Kings can ascend, falls mostly on the shoulders of Jonathan Quick. Quick was a workhorse this season and will probably need to be again next season. He will need to continue to hone his skill in his 3^rd full season if the Kings hope to advance further in the playoffs.

The comeback that never was

Ray Emery – Nobody wanted to take a chance on Ray Emery because of his previous bad behavior but the Flyers desperate for goalie help decided it would be worth the risk. Emery started all of 29 games before suffering a torn muscle. He was later diagnosed with avascular necrosis and was out for the rest of the year. In his absence Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton led the Flyers all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. With the Flyers recently signing Johan Backlund and already having Brian Boucher under contract, its unlikely free agent Emery will return. I don’t think any other NHL team will give him a chance either and I’m not even sure if he is fully recovered to play.

Breakout of the year

Steven Stamkos – I gave it to Stamkos because he had struggled so much the previous year. It’s not easy to come into the league as the 1^st overall pick in the draft. Expectations are high and you are expected to perform. Stamkos rose to the challenge in his second year. Playing along side Martin St. Louis certainly helps but Stamkos is a special talent in his own right. Leading the league in goals in your second season is also an impressive feat. Stamkos will only continue to get better. John Tavares was another number 1 pick this year that put up almost identical numbers to what Stamkos did in his first season. I suspect his second season will end up being his breakout year as well. Craig Anderson would have gotten this nod for the regular season but I gave him another award. Jaroslav Halak would defiantly have gotten this award for the postseason but I already wrote about him.

Rookie of the Year (Calder Trohpy)

Tyler Myers – Besides goalie I think defenseman is the hardest position to learn. It’s not easy to try and stop the speed and skill of the top wingers in the NHL on a nightly basis. Myers was also the only defenseman on the Sabres in the top 80 in defenseman scoring. It’s very rare that there aren’t at least two defenseman from each team in the top 60. Leading all players on your team in ice time is always an honor for any rookie. Myers should compliment Ryan Miller for years to come.

Goalie of the Year (Vezina Trophy)

Ryan Miller – Goaltending has only gotten better over the years and there were a lot of strong contenders. Tuukka Rask came in a strong second but he played in 24 fewer games so I’d like to see what he can do with a full season under his belt. Miller had the 2^nd best GAA at 2.22 and the 2^nd best SV% at .931. Both were behind Rask. He faced the 4^th most shots and had the 4^th most wins. So while he wasn’t first in any major statistical category, he was 1^st in taking over a game. He isn’t perfect though as he did make a few of my Goat of the Week awards this season. But as the entire World witnessed in the Olympics, he can put on quite a good show. This past January I saw Miller play live against the Ducks. He didn’t start the game, Patrick Lalime did. But the Ducks chased Lalime after the first 10 minutes after he gave up four goals. Though the Ducks did manage to score one goal on Miller, the whole entire feel of the game seemed different when he came into it. It was if he told the Ducks this isn’t going to be easy anymore. It wasn’t. I hope that Miller doesn’t suffer the same fate Dominik Hasek did in Buffalo. That is to go cupless.

Player of the Year (Hart Trophy)

Sidney Crosby – Now before we start this, I am not a diehard Sidney Crosby fan. I think he is a great player but I do not worship the ground he walks on. Furthermore, I honestly don’t think he is the most talented player on his team. I think Evgeni Malkin is. Two years ago Malkin would have easily won my player of the year award (I know my award isn’t that prestigious). So why does Crosby get it when Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Sedin had just as good or even better seasons? Well first off, Malkin didn’t have the same year he had in the previous two seasons and a lot of that was due to injuries. So basically Crosby had to carry the Penguins on his back. The other important thing to remember is Crosby doesn’t really have anyone else on his line. Sure Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin are good players but they aren’t great. Sedin has his brother Daniel Sedin on the same line and Ovechkin has Nicklas Backstrom and sometimes Alexander Semin. Crosby is the line all by himself. He also scored 51 goals which was not only tied for 1^st in the league but his own personal best. He had never even reached 40 goals in any of his previous seasons. He was also red hot in the 1^st round of the playoffs before coming back down to earth against Halak. I don’t think he has reached his full potential yet but I felt he was the best player on the ice this season.

Vote for the best of the season

Some were hard cuts particularly in the Goat category, so many goats this season. But I narrowed it down to three fights and five goats. There is no playoff goats so no Dan Boyle own goal or Halak stupidly playing the puck way beyond his net.

Fight of the Season

Cam Janssen vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

David Koci vs. Brian McGrattan

Rick Rypien vs. Cam Janssen

Goat of the Season

Nikolai Khabibulin misplays the puck in the final minute of the game against the Flames to give them the win.

Tim Thomas mishandles the puck allowing the Penguins to get the win in overtime.

Keith Ballard taking out his own unsuspecting goalie

Ivan Vishnevskiy loses the puck off his stick and into his own empty net

Antoine Vermette comes sweeping in and knocks it in his own goal.

And down the stretch they come – Can’t you just hear the Kentucky Derby announcer now? I know what you’re thinking, great another blogger to tell me about the NHL standings that I can’t just look at myself. The teams are basically now set, we just don’t know where. The only thing not decided is which one of the four in the East won’t get in, Rangers, Bruins, Canadiens or Flyers but it’s almost a given the Rangers won’t.

East (Least)

1.        z-Washington             80        118     +83

2.        x-New Jersey             79        99        +25

3.        y-Buffalo                     79        98        +28

4.        x-Pittsburgh                79        97        +16

5.        x-Ottawa                     80        93        -9

6.        Montreal                     80        87        -2

7.        Philadelphia               80        86        +11

8.        Boston                        79        85        +1

West (Beast)

1.        y-San Jose                 80        109     +46

2.        y-Chicago                  79        107     +59

3.        y-Vancouver               80        101     +48

4.        x-Phoenix                   79        102     +20

5.        x-Nashville                  80        98        +2

6.        x-Los Angeles           79        97        +23

7.        x-Detroit                     79        96        +10

8.        x-Colorado                 79        93        +16

I won’t do match-ups this week since we still have a week to go but some things jump out at me.

Not that GA/GF is the, be all end all of everything but I think it’s an important stat. In the West you can pretty much see who the weakest link is, Nashville. I can’t imagine them getting past the 1^st round, everybody else will be tough and it’s totally up for grabs. If you go by the +25 cut off point, if you don’t know what I’m talking about read last weeks column, it’s still just San Jose, Chicago, and Vancouver. Los Angeles has a shot to make the cut-off point mostly thanks to the +5 they had on Bobby Lu (more on him below) and the Canucks. If you would have told me that Phoenix would make the playoffs at the start of the season I wouldn’t have believed you. If you would have told me they would get over 100 points, I would have laughed in your face for 30 minutes. But here we are. Colorado ended up around where I thought they would. I thought Los Angeles was a year away from making the playoffs but here they are anyway.

In the East I think it’s telling how bad the conference is when the 9^th place Western team would be in 6^th place in the East and probably hold the advantage. Not to mention the 5^th place Senators have a -9. In the East it’s the same three teams over +25, Washington, Buffalo and New Jersey. Even though Pittsburgh will probably finish in 4^th like last year, New Jersey has the tiebreaker; I think it’s safe to say they lost their mojo. Of course Malkin has only played in two of the past ten games and he is a huge part of what makes that team go. The most interesting thing about the East is if there are no upsets, which doesn’t seem likely but isn’t there always at least one, and the top 4 stay as they are Pittsburgh would meet Washington in the 2^nd round, again, despite the NHL’s wishes. I’d have to admit I was hoping they would meet in the conference finals this year as well. Washington seems to have Pittsburgh’s number too. It would also setup a 2^nd round of Miller vs. Brodeur and won’t that be fun. This would be a rematch of the Team USA vs. Team Canada gold medal game goalies… o wait nevermind.

Fights of the Week

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

Darcy Hordichuk vs. George Parros

The 4^th fight this season and 10^th overall between these two. Short but lots of good punched and probably one of the better Parros fights.

Jason Strudwick vs. Brian Sutherby

Good rights by Strudwick and good lefts by Sutherby. It’s a shame it didn’t last longer.

Goat of the Week

Roberto Luongo – Vancouver Canucks

Roberto Luongo had what some may say a bad night at the office when he gave up eight goals against the Kings. Some were fairly bad but the eighth goal pretty much summed up his night. It probably had him longing for the day when he received his gold medal. Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault on why he didn’t pull Luongo, “I’ve got a plan, and I’m going to stick to the plan.” Translation: Luongo sucking wasn’t part of the plan.

And because we love Luongo so much, here’s another one from against the Avalanche. He tried to cover with his blocker hand, don’t you see the problem with that already, and butted it in with his stick. Not sure if it was over the line yet but while he was busy not covering the puck the Avalanche stormed and knocked it in.

Things I like

1. Jaroslav Halak started to heat up in March which included, among other things, a six game win streak. Now he has boiled over and recorded two straight shutouts in crucial games for Montreal’s playoffs chances. Perhaps this will finally put an end to the misery that is the Carey Price experiment in Montreal. Not to totally rag on Price but he’s had a rough go of it in Montreal. especially with the media. I think he’s someone who would benefit from a change in scenery.

2.  A home and home series of the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the New York Rangers in the final two games of the regular season. Talk about scheduling prowess but I like that the teams competing for a spot have to face each other. That’s the way it should be, although I realize it rarely happens. Of course since the Rangers just lost to Buffalo, it doesn’t really matter anymore. O well.

3. Since being inserted as the starting goalie since Huet melted down, Antti Niemi has played well enough to justify being a starter in his own right and not just simply the lesser of two evils option. In the past four games he has only allowed four goals.

4. I just love the points race between Henrik Sedin and Alex Ovechkin. Ditto the goals race between Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos. I also loved Ovie’s empty net goal with about one second left in the game against the Penguins, just priceless.

Things I don’t

1. Hey buddy can I buy a goal? That’s what Boston Bruin players and fans must be saying. They have now dropped into the lowest scoring team in the NHL. Hard to imagine they were the 2^nd highest scoring team last year. I wonder if they regret trading Phil Kessel, no wait I know the answer to that. Amazingly they did score five on Calgary the other week and four on Atlanta. They have now mustered up five goals in their last four games.

2. The plucky Atlanta Thrashers had their luck finally run out. With the Rangers winning and the Thrashers only able to muster up three points in the last five games their run for the playoffs has come to an end. Hard to root against a team who seems to shed one superstar a season but then you realize they play in Atlanta and have the second lowest attendance on top of only Phoenix, who has their attendance problems well documented, so then you don’t feel too bad.

Stat Line of the Week

04/03/10 Vancouver 5 vs. Anaheim 4

In his first NHL season the former 1^st round pick Michael “Grabby” Grabner had his first career hat trick. Not to shabby in only twelve minutes of play. He should be one to watch next year in what will likely be an increased role.

Did You Know?

That the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks have never made the playoffs in the same season. Sadly that is the case this year as the Ducks won’t make the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04 or the lockout year if you want to be technical, though nobody made it then. They have both missed it in the same season though.

Numbers, Numbers

13 – Number of 25 goal seasons for Teemu Selanne

801 – Number of career assists for the 39 year old Mike Modano

4 – Number of goals in 54 games for Peter Mueller with the Phoenix Coyotes

9 – Number of goals in 15 games for Peter Mueller with the Colorado Avalanche

0 – Number of wins by the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins over the Washington capitals this season in four games

600 – Number of wins by Martin Brodeur, win 600 was a shutout fittingly

This Week in Hockey History

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

April 01, 1990 Luc Robitaille scored his 100th point of the season (for the second time in his career), as the Kings lost 8-4 to the Flames at Calgary.

April 02, 1927 New York Rangers’ Lorne Chabot became the first rookie goalie in NHL history to get a shutout in his first playoff game, when he and Bruins’ Hal Winkler traded shutouts in a scoreless tie, in Game One of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.

April 03, 1966 In the final game of the 1965-66 season, Chicago’s Bobby Hull picked up an assist (during a 4-2 loss at Boston) to give him 97 points, the most ever by a player in one season. Hull broke Dickie Moore’s NHL record of 96 points set in 1958-59.

April 04, 1976 Chicago’s Tony Esposito became the first goaltender in NHL history to record 30 (or more) wins for seven straight seasons, when the Blackhawks had a 7-2 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues.

April 05, 1995 Montreal Canadiens obtained Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov from the New York Islanders, in exchange for Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider and Craig Darby.

April 06, 1974 Rookie Denis Potvin scored a goal and three assists in the final game of the season, to give him NHL records for most goals (17), assists (54), and points (71) by a rookie defenseman. Islanders won 4-2 over the Minnesota North Stars in New York.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Detroit
2. Nashville
3. Washington
4. Anaheim
5. Buffalo

Bottom 5

30. Tampa Bay
29. Florida
28. Colorado
27. Minnesota
26. Philadelphia

Anaheim Ducks Watch

In the last five games, up until the last kings game, the Ducks have garnered nine points, only one short of the maximum possible. Not to shabby especially when you consider they are doing it without Ryan Getzlaf and Jonas Hiller.

Anaheim played Colorado at Colorado in a game they must have otherwise they would pretty much be out of it. They delivered especially the Selanne, Blake, Koivu line. This was the first game the line played exceptionally well and the start of their current streak. In fact Selanne, Koivu with Niedermayer and Eminger all had +5 for the game. Blake had a +4. Selanne had a goal number 601 in which he tied his boyhood idol and fellow Fin Jari Kurri.

Next was Vancouver at home in a rematch of a game where the Ducks didn’t really show up in Vancouver the week before. Ever hear of Michael Grabner? Well I haven’t but the Canucks felt highly enough of him to draft him 14^th overall in the 2006 draft. He showed why as he recorded his 1^st career hat trick. This was a highly entertaining game. For the Ducks Selanne and Koivu each recorded two clutch goals a piece. Selanne’s goals came on the power-play as he officially passed Kurri on the goals list. Koivu’s second goal came on the power-play with the goalie pulled and tied the game in the final two minutes to force overtime. Overtime was just as exciting as the regular game but no one scored. In overtime and towards the end of the 3^rd period there were some questionable no calls on both sides. I like that they let them play though and they were somewhat consistent with the officiating. In the shootout Mr. Reliable Selanne was not reliable and even though Curtis McElhinney was great in the game he was not very good in the shootout. Canucks win in the shutout but the Ducks get that all important point.

Next were the Kings in a “road” game in Los Angeles. The Kings got a weird bounce goal to take a 1-0 lead at the end of the 1^st. Lots of chances the rest of the game in another entertaining game. This game also had some questionable no calls. Nobody scored gain to the end of the 3^rd until Koivu ties the game in the final two minutes with a power-play goal with the goalie pulled. Hmm… where have I seen that before? Koivu’s new nickname is Mr. Clutch. In the shootout McElhinney was much better than he was in the shootout against the Canucks. Nobody scored in the shootout except for, guess who, Saku Koivu.

Next was another game against Los Angeles this time at home. The Ducks tried to keep their playoff hopes alive and jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Selanne scored two goals and Bobby Ryan finally snapped his eight game goalless drought. Ryan did it off a Vancouver miscue into a wide open net. But alas the Kings stormed back and forced overtime. The Ducks needed to win the shootout to stay alive but since the Avalanche beat the Canucks in their own shootout right before it didn’t really matter. It’s just as well since Los Angeles ended up beating the Ducks in the shootout anyway.

Anaheim started to put it all together these last few weeks but it was too late in the end. I was most impressed with how hot Selanne and Koivu were these past few weeks. But of course that is what was envisioned when they were put together at the beginning of the year but it never materialized. That coupled with injuries (Getzlaf, Selanne, Wisniewski, Lupul), Hiller starting slow and Whitney not really fitting in doomed the Ducks. Visnovsky ended up fitting in really well after the trade but again something that didn’t happened until it was too late. If Niedermayer and Selanne come back next year I think this will be a dangerous team if they stay healthy, since most of the chemistry issues have been worked out.

The calendar has flip to April and the playoff races are heating up, with only a few games remaining here at Pucking Awesome we wanted to introduce a new segment called the Weekend Warriors.  Next year it will be mostly focused towards fantasy, but with most leagues headed into their fantasy finals we will look at players that could impact the push to the playoffs.

Teams with 2 games this weekend: Ducks, Flames, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Stars, Red Wings, Oiler, Wild, Canadiens, Devils, Rangers, Flyers, Sharks, Canucks

Forwards to watch:

Jarome Iginla, Flames W:  The former Hart Trophy winner and captain of the Flames needs to have a big weekend as the Flames make or break weekend is here.  The Flames open up their weekend with a head-to-head matchup vs the team they are trying to catch in the standings, the Avalanche.  Iginla has been cold of lately with one goal in his last six games and one goal in his last 11.  Numbers those are not acceptable in both fantasy and a team fighting for their playoff lives.  Iginla needs a big weekend for the Flames who have two big matchups vs the Avs and Blackhawks.

Johan Franzen, Red Wings C/W: No one is hotter than the Mule, the power forward has nine goals and 15 points since his return from knee surgery.  The Red Wings have a pivotal matchup vs Nashville, a team who he has scored 11 career goals in 27 games, and out of conference matchup vs the goalie deficient Flyers.  The red hot Franzen should continue his current run as he gains momentum towards another huge playoffs (51 career playoff points in 63 games).

Marian Gaborik, Rangers W: The Rangers winger reached the 40-goal mark for the second time of his career this week, but more importantly has played 70 games this season.  Now comes the time of year that the Rangers paid full price for this off-season, and with two games against the Southleast basement dwellers Gaborik is poised to have a big weekend.  The Rangers play on the road vs the Lightning (25^th in the league in GAA, 3.03) and the Panthers (20^th in the league in GAA, 2.86) and Gaborik had seven points in his last six games and look for it to continue as the Rangers need these four points against inferior opponents.

Defenseman To Watch:

Kevin Bieksa, Canucks: The 28-year-old defenseman had a career year last season and has not been able to stay healthy this year including missing 27 games due to a lacerated leg.  Now finally healthy the mobile defenseman is playing 22 minutes a game as the Canucks have secured their playoff position.  The kid with the rocket shot (539 career shots) will be important this weekend and going forward for the Canucks back line.

Andrei Markov, Canadiens:  With games against two of the top scoring teams this weekend, Flyers (2.87 goals per game) and Sabres (2.86 goals per game) it was hard to argue that the goaltender might be the biggest person to watch for the Candiens, but the improve play of Markov will be more important.  With Montreal’s loss to Carolina on Wednesday it has brought them down to the pack of the five teams vying for the final three East playoff spots.  The 31-year-old defenseman has been steady force on the back line for a team torn between two goalies.  Markov has 12 points in his last 14 games but best of all he is a +11 in those games.  This all was after missing two games due to a lower body injury, the Canadiens will need their top d-man at his top shape as they push for the playoffs.

Dan Boyle, Sharks:  The 33-year-old defenseman seems to not be slowing down in the most important part of the season.  Boyle has six points in a four-game point streak as he climbs the scoring ranks for defenseman (15G-41A-56P).  The power play is where he has done most of his damage with six power play goals and 23 power play assists and special teams will be important in the Sharks two games on the road this weekend against the Wild and Avalanche.

Goalies To Watch:

Craig Anderson, Avalanche:  The career backup has finally been given the reigns and has thrived this season for the surprised Avs but has almost already doubled his career high in games played (67).  He seems to have hit a wall by winning only one of his last seven games, in those game he has an awful 4.25 GAA and even worst .857 save percentage.  With games against the Flames, as mentioned before the team chasing them, and high scoring Sharks (3.14 goals per game).  For the upstart Avalanche to even make the playoffs they need their top goaltender to get back to the goalie that has won a career high 36 games.

Martin Brodeur, Devils: The greatest goalie that has ever played needs to be on top of his game this weekend as the Devils try to chase down an Atlantic Division crown.  Brodeur has come on some hard luck lately only giving up 10 goals in his last four starts, but only one win to show.  In comes to Newark the also struggling but high scoring Blackhawks followed by one of the hottest team in the NHL, Carolina Hurricanes.  For the Devils to take one of the top three seeds in the East they need the great Marty Brodeur to prove he is not wearing down.

Antti Niemi, Blackhawks:  The 26-year-old Finnish net minder has seemed to be the choice for the Stanley Cup favorite Blackhawks, but it is really by default.  Money bags Huet gave up seven goals in his only start in the last couple of weeks, while Niemi is coming off a 21 save shutout vs the Wild.  So this weekend with games against two teams with more on the line (Devils and Flames) it will be impertinent for the rookie goaltender to secure his spot as the top goalie on one of the NHL’s top teams.      

What’s in a goal? – The only way to win a game in the NHL is to score more goals than the other team. Makes sense right? So teams that have more wins score more goals over time. They would also score more goals than they would yield. If you look at the standings you notice the GF (goals for) and GA (goals against) columns next to wins, losses and ties err scratch that overtime losses, sigh. The teams at the top, this year, like Washington, San Jose and Chicago all have a large positive goal differential. Teams at the bottom like Edmonton and Toronto have a large negative goal differential. What does it all mean though? Is there any correlation to Stanley Cup winners?

Yes, in some ways there is. In the last 20 years we have never had a Stanley Cup winner with less than a plus 25 goal differential in the regular season. 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. It’s a good thing the NHL has expanded so things like that don’t happen anymore. Of course it begs the more interesting question, how did they get to the Finals and how sad would it have been if they had won?

So what does all that mean for this season? In the East that means no Cup for Ottawa (negative), Montreal (negative) or Boston (about even). Atlanta (negative) and the Rangers (negative) would also be no if they managed to somehow get in. Philadelphia (about +10) would also be a no. Washington and Buffalo (just over) have the best shots and New Jersey and Pittsburgh are on the bubble with about a +20.

Out West it’s a little more crowded. None of the playoff contenders are negative. Two are about even Calgary (if they get in) and Nashville, so no for them. Detroit is only about a +10, by far their lowest goal differential in sometime, so no for them as well. Vancouver, Chicago and San Jose are the best bets. Los Angeles, Colorado and Phoenix are all on the bubble at around a +20 each.

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. Keep in mind last year’s winner, Pittsburgh, had a differential of +25 the lowest in some time and where I got the cutoff point from. Let’s see if the pattern holds true this year.

Goalie Spotlight

Next week, hopefully.

Fights of the Week

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

Adam Burish vs. Derek Dorsett

Fists of fury in front of the Blackhawks bench with these two.

Cory Sarich vs. Jason Chimera

Sarich knocks down Chimera with one punch. I’m not really sure what Chimera thought was going to happen, he’s in a fight and he isn’t doing anything.

Goats of the Week

Antoine Vermette – Columbus Blue Jackets

Well I probably could have put a goal or two that Huet gave up but I figured that would be too easy. Dave Bolland, who deserves his own goat props on the play, fans on his rebound attempt and Vermette comes sweeping in and knocks it in his own goal. A shame really, if he had gotten his stick on the other side of the puck he would have saved the goal.

Jimmy Howard – Detroit Red Wings

The curse of the strange bounces continues as Owen Nolan casually dumps the puck in but Howard’s misplay coupled with the odd bouncing puck leads to a goal. The Red Wings were up 4-0 in the 3rd at that point, so it didn’t really matter.

Things I like

1. The top four teams from last years playoffs should make the playoffs again this year (San Jose, Detroit, Vancouver, Chicago), while the five through eight seeds will not. Interesting that all those top teams moved on to the second round last year except for San Jose. Furthermore it’s interesting that they again hold the top three spots this year, except for Detroit which is now in 6^th.

2. We have races in the points and goals stat categories. Barring any miracle Henrik Sedin should win the assist crown. Alex Ovechkin has an unfair advantage of missing 10 games more than everyone else, though a lot of those were his fault for getting suspended. Despite that he is still right in the thick of things at the top for the points and goal crowns, tie goes to Ovie.

3. That my prediction of the Rangers not making the playoffs this year is becoming a reality. I’ll have to take it because almost all my other predictions are wrong, except for Washington winning their division but who didn’t have that?

Things I don’t

1. Calgary’s playoff chances anymore. With Detroit winning (of course it’s now about Los Angeles and Colorado) it was unlikely the Flames would get in, but they showed almost no drive to want to get in. Losing to teams like Minnesota and the NY Islanders, teams they are better than, is one thing but coming to Boston and dropping a major goose egg of 5-0 is pretty bad. Hard to imagine you could play that bad in a game you must win. Also what is up with the Flames scheduling? They went from Denver to Calgary to Minnesota to Calgary to New York. I don’t see why the two home games couldn’t have been next to each other and then had the Denver and Minnesota games next to each other and then went to the East Coast from there that would have made much more sense.

2. Cristobal Huet yikes! It’s a shame really. The season started out well for Huet, he had a good October, other than the 10/12 game against the Flames, and November. Things started to go downhill after that and they reached the bottom this month. I really think they should make a play for Chris Osgood, otherwise it’s Niemi time.

3. Evgeni Malkin missing games with injuries. He didn’t miss any games the past two seasons and his first in the league he only missed four. This year hasn’t been so lucky for him. He’s fun to watch and the Penguins aren’t really the same team without him. I hope his foot will be ready to go come playoff time.

Stat Line of the Week

03/27/10 Buffalo 7 vs. Tampa Bay 1

Back to back weeks of Sabres in the stat line box and both against Tampa Bay. After being called out by his coach for lack of effort in the previous game, Derek Roy responded with his 4^th hat trick of his career. He has points in every game this March except four. The Sabres have been hot offensively as of late and it reminds me of the Sabre teams with Dominik Hasek.

Did You Know?

That when Colorado beat New Jersey in the 2000-01 NHL Stanley Cup Finals their combined regular season GA/GF ratio was a positive 278. This was the highest combined ratio, by far, in the past twenty seasons.

Numbers, Numbers

(hey they’re all under 10, go figure)

1 – Number of seasons over 100 points for Henrik Sedin in nine seasons

2 – Number of seasons the Coyotes have made it to the Playoffs this decade

9 – Number of seasons the Red Wings will inevitably make the Playoffs this decade (only 9 because one season was lost due to the lockout)

9 – Number of seasons the Devils have made the playoffs this decade

0 – Number of times the Florida Panthers will have made the playoffs this decade (the only team not to make it)

This Week in Hockey History

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

March 25, 1982 Wayne Gretzky set an NHL record for fastest two shorthanded goals, scoring twice in :27 during the second period of a 7-2 Oilers’ win at Calgary.

March 26, 1960 Dickie Moore scored twice and added an assist and Doug Harvey got the winning goal at 8:38 of overtime to lead the Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the visiting Chicago Black Hawks, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.

March 27, 2003 Patrick Roy recorded his 66th (and final) career shutout and his 547th victory, tops in NHL history and 100 more than second-place Terry Sawchuk as the Avalanche won 3-0 against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

March 28, 1974 Islanders’ rookie defenseman Denis Potvin scored to set an NHL record for most goals by a rookie defenseman, as the Islanders lost 4-1 at Los Angeles. Potvin’s 16th of the year broke the record of 15 set by Montreal’s Guy Lapointe in 1970-71.

March 29, 1983 Vancouver’s Stan Smyl scored twice to set a new club record with 88 points in one season, as the Canucks lost 7-4 to Edmonton.

March 30, 1979 The NHL announced the expansion of the league from 17 to 21 teams, with the addition of four clubs from the WHA – Edmonton, Hartford, Winnipeg, and Quebec City.*

*Ironically there all gone now except for Edmonton.

March 30, 1925 Victoria Cougars of WCHL beat the Canadiens 6-1 to become the last non-NHL team to win the Stanley Cup. Victoria won the best of five series 3-1 over Montreal.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Detroit
2. Phoenix
3. Nashville
4. Atlanta
5. Montreal

Bottom 5

30. Tampa Bay
29. Edmonton
28. Florida
27. Chicago
26. Philadelphia

Anaheim Ducks Watch

Playoff hopes looking slim Anaheim took on Vancouver at Vancouver. Despite being a game for their season basically they didn’t really seem to try to hard. The Sedin twins figured into the first three Vancouver goals and it wasn’t until the 3^rd, when Anaheim scored there first and only goal. Getzlaf re-injured his ankle when Henrik Sedin fell on it. Just an awesome game, note sarcasm. Anaheim isn’t much of a road team, with only six teams having fewer wins on the road than them, and they showed it in the past two games.

Next was the epic grudge match against Edmonton. Luckily Anaheim won this game because otherwise we’d be looking at some serious issues. George Parros, of all people, got the 1^st goal in the game. BTW Parros is really not a good fighter, he’s just big. In the 3^rd Perry had two power-play goals in a row to propel the Ducks to a 3-1 lead. Edmonton got a goal in the final minute with a six on three advantage. Let’s face it if you can’t score on a six on three, you have major problems. Speaking of the six on three, you sure don’t see that very often. Former teammate Ryan Whitney got into it with Troy Bodie during and right after the game. Whitney was also standing in the Ducks bench at one point jawing at Bodie.

The Stars at Anaheim were next up and since the game was at Anaheim, they did a little celebration for Teemu’s 600^th goal. I was at a game where they honored him with something else about a year or two ago; I can’t remember what it was though shame on me. Anyway Nick Bonino started his second game ever. He also anchors the top line with the injured Ryan Getzlaf out. Bonino was of course not drafted by the Ducks. Which brings up the question, where do all the players the Ducks pick in the first few rounds end up? The certainly don’t make the team. Only Perry, Getzlaf and Ryan are 1^st rounders that are actually on the team. Matt Beleskey was drafted by the Ducks but not until the 4^th round. Dan Sexton and Rob Bordson are undrafted. Way to go Ducks, you sure know talent when you see it. Anyway the Ducks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 3^rd period with a bunch of quick strikes. Getting the first goal of the game was Nick Bonino on the power play. The assists on the goal were Teemu Selanne and Corey Perry. Not to shabby to have your first goal of your career assisted by a future hall of famer. Perry got the game winner with his 27^th goal of the year and Dallas scored one goal right after Anaheim’s three and that was it. Curtis McElhinney started his second game in a row, in place of Jonas Hiller, and he has played extremely well. He is now on a three game winning streak, counting the game he won in relief of Hiller. They keep their faint playoff hopes alive against Colorado.

Rise of the Phoenix – I’m not sure how many of you saw the Chicago vs. Phoenix game but talk about a playoff atmosphere, that place was rocking. The weirdest part was the game wasn’t in Chicago, it was in Phoenix. The Coyotes are still dead last in attendance this season, averaging just 11,581 per game, however in this game they sold out the arena with 17,534. This proves that if you win, they will come, unless of course you’re the Avalanche.

The Coyotes are hot and have now won nine in a row. They are also contending for the top spot in the West. It actually makes my head hurt thinking about it because I never would have guessed this in a million years. I’m not really surprised about the Avalanche, the other darlings of the West who have since fallen, because they just had some bad injuries last year and then had some great picks in the off-season and a great goalie acquisition. But the Coyotes gunning for the best record in the West!?! The Coyotes haven’t made the playoffs since 2002 and even more telling, they have never been out of the 1^st round as a franchise.

Other than the superb goaltending duo of Ilya Bryzgalov (the current leader in wins and shutouts) and Jason LaBarbera it’s hard to see how they are having this much success. The Coyotes only have one player on the team with over 20 goals, Radim Vrbata who I don’t think strikes fear into opposing goalies. They would have two players over 20 goals if you add on the goals Wojtek Wolski has with the Avalanche. Offensively and defensively they are just a bunch of rag tag blue collar guys. They do have Mr. Everything Shane Doan and sniper Ed Jovanovski, though. It will be interesting to see how the Coyotes do in the playoffs. They don’t boast much experience in the playoffs and the West is especially tough this year. Even if they have a 1^st round exit, which seems likely, Phoenix should be proud as they have accomplished a lot this season, including transforming the franchise, no matter the playoff outcome.

The rematch against the Blackhawks didn’t go quite as well. The Coyotes lost 2-0 and were unable to set the franchise record for wins, still nothing to be ashamed of.

Goalie Spotlight

I would like to keep doing this section but I haven’t been in the mood with all the other crap going on in my life.

Fights of the Week

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

Cam Janssen vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

Wow sums this fight up, with everyone’s favorite frenchie. If you like long fights this one clocks in at over two minutes of action.

Brad Winchester vs. Brandon Prust

A unique fight in which Prust was outsized by a lot but managed to hold his own.

Ryane Clowe vs. Jarome Iginla

A decent fight between these two heavy hitters. Iginla drops his helmet and Clowe does not despite having plenty of time to do so.

Goats of the Week

Lots of goats this week, enjoy.

Thomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

We’ve had a few really long goals this year and this would be another. The difference is nobody blamed the goalie (Vokoun) this time, they all blamed the bad ice. Except this goal cost them the win because it forced overtime which the Panthers lost in a shootout.

Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks

Crawford goes out of his net to play a puck coming into his zone with Chipchura and Former Duck Boynton chasing after. Crawford fails miserably at whatever he was trying to do and Chipchura makes a nice pass to Marchant who gets the goal. In all the epic fails this year, I think this one is right up there.

Joel Quenneville – Chicago Blackhawks Coach

In the final minute of the game Quenneville pulled his goalie in a game against Anaheim, despite the fact that Anaheim had position of the puck and no Blackhawks were in sight. Even though it was behind the Anaheim net it was still a bad decision, as two passes later Anaheim had an empty net goal.

Things I like

1. The dominance of New Jersey over Pittsburgh is quite interesting this season. The Devils are 6-0 and have outscored the Penguins 22 to 5. That’s a huge differential. Marc-Andre Fleury only has one game against the Devils this year with a SV% above .900. Johnson had the best performance against the Devils only giving up one goal on 32 shots in a 2-0 loss (the other goal was an empty net). Don’t be surprised to see a lot of Brent Johnson come playoff time with Fleury’s struggles. But averaging less than a goal a game of offense is quite putrid for Crosby, Malkin and company.

2. This should be filed under Things I don’t, since I can’t stand them, but here it is anyway the Detroit Red Wings are hot and trying to keep their consecutive playoff streak alive. Personally I was hoping the Red Wings wouldn’t make it but alas that doesn’t look to be the case. They will be a tough 1^st round out for any of the possibilities, Phoenix (inexperience), Chicago (bad goaltending) and San Jose (umm they’re San Jose). Jimmy Howard continues to excel in his first full season. I’m surprised a goaltending needy team didn’t make a run at Chris Osgood. Unless the Red Wings didn’t want to part with him.

3. Teemu Selanne’s 600^th goal. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. It’s been a long Hall of Fame career for the Finnish Flash and this was the icing on the cake for his career. I’m also happy that he could at least etch his name on Lord Stanley’s cup once.

4. How about the Washington Capitals clinching their division a week ago and they currently have an over 30 point lead on the Thrashers in the standings. Just a few more wins and the can lock up the top spot in the East. I am looking forward to a Capitals vs. Devils or Penguins conference finals.

Things I don’t

1. James Wisniewski’s suspension. I think eight games are a bit excessive. If the NHL is serious about cutting down on headshots and defenseless hits, I expected him to get suspended. But it wasn’t that bad of a hit and it pales in comparison to the suspension that Ovechkin received, proving preferential treatment for the stars. The biggest problem with the suspension is that Brent Seabrook’s hit on Corey Perry was almost as bad and it was the whole reason that Wisniewski hit Seabrook. Seabrook took out Perry’s head and Perry could not see him coming because his back was to Seabrook. Where as Wisniewski’s hit was able to be seen by Seabrook, even for just a second, and was more of a total body check, thought it was made worse by him leaving his feet. But had he not left his feet, I wouldn’t even have seen anything wrong wit the hit in my own opinion, I’m sure others disagree. It’s the typical double standards garbage by the NHL.

2. Well I won’t say I didn’t tell you so (I did), but San Jose has started their annual slide to mediocrity. Their latest offense was losing to the Oilers 5-1, which ups their losing streak to six games. Someone should tell the Sharks they are losing a month early though, as it’s not April yet. Evgeni Nabokov’s poor Olympic showing seems to have carried over to the Sharks. Not a good sign for the Sharks as I’m not sure Thomas Greiss is up for the playoff challenge, but who knows. At least the Sharks finally snapped their losing streak against the Wild.

Stat Line of the Week

03/18/10 Buffalo 6 vs. Tampa Bay 2

Ever hear of Jason Pominville? Well I haven’t but other than Ryan Miller, Derek Roy and Tyler Myers, I couldn’t name any Buffalo Sabres. But the Sabres have found some offense as of late and in this game Pominville picked up his 2^nd career hat trick.

Did You Know?

That after Selanne the next active player with a shot at 600 is Mark Recchi with 560, Mike Modano with 556 and Keith Tkachuk with 537. None of these players seem likely to get it though. At Recchi’s current scoring pace he would need another three seasons or so to get it. Modano would also need another three seasons at his current pace. It’s unlikely either will play another three. Tkachuk is most likely retiring at the end of this year, so barring some miracle he won’t get it either. Jerome Iginla with 441 has the best shot to reach it next, but he isn’t getting any younger.

Numbers, Numbers

The Teemu Selanne edition, in honor of his 600 goals

97 – Career game winning goals

76 – Goals scored his first season, the most of any season

3 – The number of times he has scored over 100 points in a season

216 – Power-play goals, 10^th all time

16 – The lowest amount of goals he has scored in a season that he played more than 30 games in.

46 – Goals against the San Jose Sharks, the team he has scored most on

This Week in Hockey History

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

March 18, 2000 Ray Bourque became the first defenseman in NHL history to score 400 career goals. His milestone came in a 4-3 loss against the visiting Atlanta Thrashers.

March 19, 1991 Brett Hull became the third player in NHL history to score 80 goals in a season, in a 2-1 Blues win over the Caps, at Landover, Maryland. Hull joined Gretzky and Lemieux as the only players in NHL history to accomplish the feat.

March 20, 1969 Boston’s Bobby Orr set a new NHL record for defensemen with his 21st goal of the season (breaking the mark set by Flash Hollett in 1944-45). It came at 19:59 of the third, on Orr’s 21st birthday, in a 5-5 tie against the Black Hawks, in Boston.

March 21, 1983 Darcy Rota scored two goals to become only the second player in Canucks’ history to score 40 goals in a season. It came as Vancouver defeated Pittsburgh 7-3.

March 22, 2004 L.A.’s Luc Robitaille picked up an assist to set an NHL record for most career points by a left wing with the 1,370th of his NHL career (passing John Bucyk) as the Kings lost 2-1 to the visiting Edmonton Oilers.

March 23, 1983 Mark Messier became the third player in Edmonton Oilers history to score 100 points in a season, when he picked up a goal in a 7-4 loss to the Jets, at Winnipeg.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Phoenix
2. Washington
3. Detroit
4. Montreal
5. Nashville

Bottom 5

30. Tampa Bay
29. Ottawa
28. NY Rangers
27. San Jose
26. Minnesota

Anaheim Ducks Watch

After choking forever after the Olympic break, Anaheim beats the top two teams in a row in the Western Conference. Proving that if they actually tired hard enough they can beat anybody. Proving that since the Ducks aren’t trying hard enough, most of the time, the coach needs to go. Of course I have wanted Carlyle to be canned for awhile now, so I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, on with the recap.

Bobby Ryan starts Anaheim’s scoring off with his 30^th goal of the season. He is the only Duck besides Teemu Selanne to score 30 goals in back to back seasons. Seabrook ties the game. Marchant scores an easy short handed goal when goat of the week Crawford stupidly handles the puck way outside his net. Then all hell broke loose as Seabrook hit Perry and then Wisniewski hits him back. After Chicago ties the game the Ducks show some heart and in the 3^rd to win the game. In a weird play Sopel goes up to play a puck high, Perry gives him a nudge, Sople oversells the nudge and then everyone goes after Perry. Except that Perry made a nifty pass to a wide open Koivu, who nets the game winner. Bobby Ryan adds the empty netter. Hiller had some nice saves in the game and made 39 in all. If Corey Perry wasn’t Corey Perry (a jerk) I’m not sure the Ducks would have won.

Next were the Islanders in a game that was probably harder than it needed to be. Park scores for the Islanders and then less than a minute later Beleskey scores to tie the game. Then we reverse and Anaheim scores first with Visnovsky and then about a minute later Okposo ties it up. Then things start to get hairy as the Islanders score on the power play and Hiller is pulled. Hiller rarely gets pulled but most of the goals he let in were pretty lame. After giving up another goal things looked bleak in Duckville, but Anaheim clawed their way back with their new look never give up attitude. A power-play goal off of Jason Blake inches the Ducks closer. With the goalie pulled Visnovsky scores again with the magic touch and with help from some pretty awesome screens in front. In overtime Koivu takes a turnover and beats Biron on a one on one breakaway. Selanne had some really nice chances in the game to get 600, but alas it was not to be.

Next up was Colorado and a game that for once everything just seemed to go the Ducks way. Capping off the final game of a seven game home stand, the Ducks increased their winning streak to four games. They jumped out to a four goal lead and Teemu Selanne had the game winner for his 600^th goal, which was fittingly on the power-play. Troy Bodie even had a nice shorthanded goal. Colorado started to claw back and cut the deficit to 4-2, but Anaheim put the game away with a Ryan Getzlaf power-play goal to seal the 5-2 win.

Calgary was next up in a huge game at the Saddledome. Anaheim was able to tie the game up in the 2^nd period but a few minutes later Corey Perry’s costly turnover allowed Rene Bourque to come in alone and beat Jonas Hiller. Perry was none to please about it, nor should he be, as he took his frustrations out on his stick. Hagman scored later for the Flames and the Ducks just either didn’t shoot when they could or they just missed their chances. They had some that is for sure but they just couldn’t connect. Hiller has been pretty streaky in goal this season. Some games he makes some awesome saves, other games he just isn’t on and looks frustrated. That pretty much does it for Anaheim’s playoff chances. While they aren’t mathematically out, they pretty much are. A true shame with all that talent, Olympic talent, they just can’t get it together.

This will be the last Between the Pipes until the Olympics are over. Russia is expected to dominate, so naturally they won’t win. That’s how it usually works in team sports, the favorite almost never wins.

Goal Controversy – The Washington Capitals franchise record streak came to an end against the Canadiens. They only lost in overtime but apparently the Capitals thought it should never have gone to overtime, as they had a goal that was disallowed. I don’t really care what the initial call was, if you’re going to plow the opposing team’s players into their own goalie, you’re going to score goals all the time. Of course you can’t do that, nor should you be allowed to. I have no idea what Ovechkin was thinking on that play or why anyone on the Capitals actually thought that goal should have counted.

Minor Trades – A few minor trades happened before the Olympic roster freeze. The best trade was the one the Blackhawks made with the Wild. The Blackhawks received Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy and the Wild received Cam Barker. Advantage goes to the Blackhawks for sure in this deal. Barker has been a disappointment and Blackhawks want to clear space for next season. Johnsson has a higher salary but he is a free agent next year so the Blackhawks will definitely let him walk. They also get a prospect in Leddy, not to shabby. As for the Wild well they better hope Barker’s change of scenery improves his game, especially if Leddy becomes a decent talent.

Goalie Spotlight

Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh Penguins

Marc-Andre Fleury was selected first overall in the 2003 NHL entry draft. His nickname of flower is a derivative, fleuri, of his last name.  Fleuri means flower in French. He started his career playing for QMJHL for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2000. In 2003 he was named to the All-Star second team and he helped lead Canada to a Silver medal in the World Junior Championship. This was enough success for the Penguins to make him the first pick. Cape Breton later retired Fleury’s number. Fluery was the youngest NHL goaltender in the league in 2003 and he was named rookie of the month. Due to financial difficulties Pittsburgh did not want to pay Fluery his bonus. Since they didn’t want him getting the chance to earn it they let him play in the 2004 World Junior Championship. He led Canada to another Silver medal and then he was sent back to Cape Breton where he tore it up. After that he was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) where he only played in the playoffs. Since the 04-05 NHL season was canceled, Fluery stayed playing in the AHL.

Fleury got his chance to be the starter in the 05-06 season when Jocelyn Thibault was injured. He ended up beating out Thibault and Sebastien Caron to become the number one goalie. All was not well however, as the Penguins finished last in the conference and allowed a league worst 316 goals. Despite this the Penguins saw his talent and rewarded him with a two year extension. The 06-07 season featured a much improve Penguins team that made the playoffs. Fleury was able to post his first NHL SV% above .900 (.906) and his first GAA below 3.00 (2.83) behind a better team. He became the only other goalie besides Tom Barrasso to win 40 games for the franchise. The Penguins ended up losing to Stanley Cup Finalist Ottawa in the first round in five games.

Fleury sat out most of the 07-08 season with an ankle sprain allowing Ty Conlkin to start much of the year. When he came back from the injury he was 22-4-1 including the playoffs up until the Stanley Cup Final. Fleury’s career moment, up until this time, was probably his 55 save effort in triple overtime that forced a game 6. In game 6 he ended up sitting on the game winning goal and accidentally pushed it in, which was his lowest career point. He signed a seven year deal in the off-season. In the 08-09 season Fleury was able to stay healthy and start a majority of the games. His numbers dipped from the previous season but they were still an improvement over the 06-07 season. He picked up his game in the postseason and was instrumental in most series particularly the opening round series against the Flyers. The Penguins found themselves with a rematch against the Red Wings in the Finals. Fleury made many huge saves including a diving stop in the final seconds of game 7 to help the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.

So far the current season has not been one of Fleury’s strongest, though he did start out the year 8-0. He has yet to record a shutout this season, which would be a first for his NHL career if he doesn’t end up posting one. However, the Penguins are at the top of the standings and fighting the Devils for the division crown. Even if he hasn’t played his best hockey, Penguin fans know Fleury always saves his best for the postseason.

Fights of the Week

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

Colton Orr vs. Cam Janssen

These two fought briefly in the 1st period before being thwarted by the refs. They came back with a vengeance in the 2nd. Some decent shots in between the filler.

Nate Thompson vs. Matt Martin

A decent fight between two guys who don’t fight all that much. Martin gets the slight edge.

Aaron Rome vs. James Sheppard

Rome is a pretty good fighter when he can’t see. I’m surprised the refs didn’t break up the fight immediately because of that.

Goat of the Week

Steve Montador – Buffalo Sabres

Montador, a former Duck, loses an edge playing the puck behind the net and coughs it up in overtime. Brandon Sutter had a pretty pass to Sergei Samsonov who puts it behind a not ready Ryan Miller. You have to be more alert Miller even if it was Montador’s fault.

Things I like

1. Earlier in the year we thought we would get two or three teammates in the top 6 scoring at the end of the year. We still might but instead of it being a couple of Sharks it looks like it will be a couple of Capitals. Ovechkin is in 1^st and Backstrom is in 3^rd. Fellow teammate Semin isn’t too far behind in 12^th place.

2. Jonathan Quick is leading the league in wins. I don’t think anyone could see that coming. He tied the Kings franchise record for wins in a season with 35. He should easily shatter that before the season is done. He also gets a trip to Vancouver. It’s unlikely he will play much being the 3^rd goalie but he will pick-up some valuable experience. In four years he will probably be the number 2 guy behind Miller.

3. The Kings and Oilers ten round shootout. I’ve written about the shootout here before and I know many fans have their arguments of why they do and don’t like it. But watching a ten rounder is always fun and suspenseful.

4. The top eight players in +/- consists of five Washington Capitals and three Vancouver Canucks. I think that says a lot about top teams and lines in the league.

Things I don’t

1. The Devils are still slumping and Ilya hasn’t been the goal scoring machine the Devils had hoped, with only one goal in six games. He does have four assists though. The Devils struggles can also be attributed to Martin Brodeur struggling as of late. In the month of February his SV% was .871 which is lower than his career and regular season averages. He even got pulled in the regular finale before the Olympics against Carolina. Both Ilya and Brodeur are heading to Vancouver, so much needed rest is not what they will be receiving.

2. Giguere’s good fortune lasted only two games in Toronto. He lost his next two games, after his two game shutout streak, giving up a combined 7 goals. No more games until after the break so he should be able to get in plenty of practice with his favorite goalie coach.

3. No NHL hockey for two weeks. Sure there is Olympic hockey but it’s not the same.

Stat Line of the Week

02/14/10 Anaheim 7 vs. Edmonton 3

Getzlaf returned from his ankle injury and was the main catalyst for the Ducks big victory of the Oilers. Scoring two powerplay goals he helped reverse the trend of the Ducks struggling with their powerplay on the road. He also sent a strong message to Steve Yzerman of Team Canada to keep him on the Olympic squad.

Did You Know?

In honor of the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team drubbing Slovakia 18-0, I give you the most lopsided NHL game. In 1944 the Detroit Red Wings beat the NY Rangers 15-0. Syd Howe would record a hat trick in the final six minutes of the game. The Rangers only won six games that season and will go down in history as one of the worst teams ever.

Numbers, Numbers

2.08 – GAA of Tuukka Rask the current league leader and currently a back-up goalie

43 – Alex Ovechkin’s +/- the current league leader

163 – PIM for Cam Janssen, number two in the league currently

0 – Points scored by Cam Janssen so far this season

This Week in Hockey History

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

February 11, 1988 Toronto’s Borje Salming became just the fifth defenseman in NHL history to get 600 career assists. The milestone came in a 4-3 Maple Leafs win over the visiting New York Islanders.

February 12, 1929 Montreal Canadiens’ goalie George Hainsworth recorded his 15th shutout of the season (and the 42nd of his career) in a 2-0 against over the Pirates at Pittsburgh.

February 13, 2002 Dominik Hasek recorded his 60th career shutout, and Scotty Bowman became just the 2nd coach to win 400 games with Detroit, in the Red Wings 2-0 win over the Wild at Minnesota.

February 14, 1994 Wayne Gretzky picked up two assists to record a 100-point season for the 14th time in his career (extending his NHL record) as the Kings lost 3-2 to the Bruins at the Forum.

February 15, 1989 Chicago’s Jeremy Roenick tied a club record for rookies, with four points (a goal and three assists) as the Blackhawks won 7-4 over the visiting Washington Capitals.

February 16, 1980 Boston’s Jean Ratelle picked an assist to give him 1,220 career points, passing Jean Beliveau and moving up to No. 7 on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. Bruins won 5-3 over the Rockies, at Colorado.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Los Angeles
2. Washington
3. Ottawa
4. Carolina
5. Phoenix

Bottom 5

30. Toronto
29. NY Islanders
28. Edmonton
27. Florida
26. Detroit

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks got the win at home against the Oilers in a much closer than it should have been game 3-2. This was the 11^th straight win for the Ducks at home, a franchise record. Bobby Ryan had two goals and Marchant had the game winner.

If a goal is scored and no one notices does it still count? The answer is yes, as Toronto noticed that Tory Bodie tipped in Scott Niedermayer’s shot. The refs counted the goal and rewound the clock. Of course it didn’t really matter as the Flames basically dominated the rest of the game and scored three goals, led by Jerome Iginila, after that. Real nice of the Ducks to show up to a hugely important playoff type game.

The Ducks then played the Oilers again, this time at Edmonton. The Ducks erupted for seven goals in the 7-3 win. The powerplay was clicking scoring four goals. Ryan Getzlaf made his return to the lineup with authority, scoring two goals and two assists. The Ducks made a statement in this game and it’s a good thing, since they won’t be playing again for awhile. I’d like to think the Ducks have a good chance to make the playoffs. The problem is there are seven teams within seven points of each other, all vying for the last two playoff spots. Or five teams within four points. Even if the Ducks get hot, there is no guarantee two other teams won’t.

IIya found a home… for now – Well the IIya Kovalchuk watch can officially end, until this season is over. Of course this is old news by now, but it happened and I’m recapping the week so deal with it! A great pick-up by New Jersey they really didn’t give up much except for that number 1 pick. If they can re-sign Ilya they made out like gangbusters. If they can’t well even though they didn’t give up much, giving up something for nothing is never a good thing. Even if they win the cup this year and he leaves, I still think it’s a waste. They probably have a good chance of re-assigning him but they will have to pay. As of now the move hasn’t really paid off. The Devils are 1-2 since acquiring him and it could very well have been 0-3 if it wasn’t for their three goal 3^rd period rally against Toronto. It will probably take awhile for Kovalchuk to adjust to his new linemates.

As for the Thrashers, well what can you say; this team bleeds talent like no other. I still can’t wait for them to leave Atlanta. I think that will solve most of their problems. But that’s a topic for another discussion. It’s great they will have two 1st round picks in this year’s draft. Let’s hope they get some quality talent they can actually keep in Atlanta, for once.

Goalie Spotlight

Tomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

So who are the league leaders in shutouts? That would be Martin Brodeur and Tomas Vokoun each with seven so far. Vokoun is one of those unheralded guys in the league. He doesn’t get much fanfare but goes out and puts up some decent numbers.

The Czech born Vokoun was drafted in 1994 by the Montreal Canadiens, he played only one game for them and gave up four goals in one period. Between 1994 and 1994 he played in Czechoslovakia, for the ECHL and AHL. He was then chosen by the Predators in the 1998 expansion draft. He split time between the Predators and the IHL his first two seasons, though he mostly played for the Predators. It wasn’t until the 2002-03 season, after Mike Dunham was traded, that Vokoun became the starter.

After he became the starter he posted solid numbers on a regular basis and set many franchise records. Of course at this point the franchise was only about five years old. He holds the franchise record for wins in a season (36), all-time wins (134), all-time losses (147) and goaltender games played (340). During the lockout year he went to play for the Finnish league SM-liiga. He led HIFK Helsinki to an 11-4-4 record with a .940SV%. However in the playoffs he folded big time with an .846SV%, worst in the league.

From 2006 on Vokoun suffered health issues ranging from blood-clotting to thumb surgery. During this time back-up Chris Mason emerged as the starter. Subsequently Vokoun was traded to the Florida Panthers, for draft picks, right before the 2007 draft. He made the All-Star team his first year with the Panthers and 2^nd time overall he was selected. Vokoun made headlines this season when he was hit in the head with his own teammates, Keith Ballard, stick. Vokoun is posting decent numbers again this season and he is hoping to backstop the Panthers into the playoffs this year, a feat he almost accomplished last season.

Fights of the Week

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

Rick Rypien vs. Chris Neil

I good high intensity battle one of the few fights Rypien hasn’t dominated that he was in.

Tanner Glass vs. Matt Carkner

Carkner makes Glass his punching bag.

Dominic Moore vs. Zach Bogosian

Bogosian gets in a sneaky upper cut and that was the end of that.

Jody Shelley vs. Colton Orr

Shelley knocks out Orr with his 2nd punch.

Goat of the Week

Patrick Lalime – Buffalo Sabres

Lalime doesn’t play much backing up Ryan Miller and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon after this play. The puck did take a funny bounce off the boards but you have to be prepared, Lalime wasn’t and it bounced off his skate into the net.

Things I like

1. Great game between the Penguins and Capitals before the Super Bowl. Alex Ovechkin had a hat trick and assisted on the game winner in overtime and Sidney Crosby had two goals. Despite NBC’s constant drooling over Crosby and Ovechkin, they managed to mention former Hart trophy winner Evgeni Malkin. Hey NBC doesn’t winning the Hart Trophy mean your some kind of skilled hockey player?

2. Speaking of Ovechkin he notched his 500^th point this week in 373 games the fastest to 500 since Eric Lindros did it in 352 games. You remember Lindros right?

3. There are only two teams that have 7 players above 35 or more points each. One of them is the Washington Capitals which I’m sure most of you would guess but I bet you can’t guess the other one. I’ll give you the answer later in the column.

4. The Maple Leafs are getting Jiggy with it. After debuting in Toronto with a shutout, Jean-Sebastien Giguere decided to follow that up with another shutout. He made 30 saves again. His shutout streak came to an end against San Jose though, as he gave up three goals in a losing effort. If he had shutout the Sharks, I’m sure they would be celebrating in Toronto like they just won the super bowl, jk.

Things I don’t

1. NHL scheduling quirks, the Maple Leafs and Devils played each other in three of the last four games. Is that really necessary? How about a little more space in between games NHL?

2. NBC explaining why you fight in a hockey game during the Penguins vs. Capitals. Please stop NBC. Next NBC will explain why you try and score goals, ugh.

3. I’d like to give my condolences to Brian Burke who lost his son Brendan Burke. He died in a car accident driving on a snowy road. As a former Mid-Atlantic resident, I know how difficult it can be to drive on snow and ice. A person should never have to outlive their children.

Trivia: The answer to the other team besides the Capitals would be the Los Angeles Kings.

Stat Line of the Week

02/06/10 Toronto 5 vs. Ottawa 0

Well there were many fine performances this week but I chose to highlight Schenn’s performance. A 5^th overall selection, by the Maple Leafs, in his second season he is starting to develop into what the Maple Leafs had hoped when they drafted him. He was on the ice for four of the Maple Leaf’s five goals and he scored two of them himself.

Did You Know?

Patrick Roy is the only net minder to give up an opponent’s 500th career goal more than once. The players who have scored their 500^th on Roy are: Steve Yzerman in 1996, Joe Mullen in 1997 and Brendan Shanahan in 2002.

Numbers, Numbers – the streak edition

14 – The Washington Capital’s current winning streak.

11 – The winning streak by the Ottawa Senators which came to an end against Toronto.

10 – The losing streak by the Boston Bruins which came to an end against Montreal.

16 – Would be the games points streak by Alex Ovechkin if he scored against the Islanders on 1/26 but he didn’t so it’s now six games.

10 – The current winning streak for home wins for the Anaheim Ducks

This Week in Hockey History

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

February 04, 1987 Wayne Gretzky scored his 50th goal of the season, to lead the Oilers to a 6-5 win over the North Stars at Minnesota. It was Gretzky’s eighth straight 50 goal season.

February 05, 1996 Colorado’s Patrick Roy became the 4th goaltender in NHL history to win 10 or more games with two teams in one season, when the Avalanche had a 4-2 win over the visiting Canadiens. Roy had won 12 games with Montreal before being traded.

February 06, 1993 Mike Gartner scored four goals and an assist (including a first period hat trick) to lead the Wales Conference to a 16-6 win over the Campbells, at the All Star Game in Montreal. Pierre Turgeon had three goals & two assists in the game

February 07, 1987 Cam Neely scored his first career NHL hat trick as the Bruins won 8-5 over the Maple Leafs in Boston.

February 08, 2004 Joe Sakic scored a hat trick to lead the Western Conference to a 6-4 win over the East, in the NHL All Star game played in Minnesota. Daniel Alfredsson led the East with two goals and an assist.

February 09, 1971 Vancouver Canucks ended their team-record 11 game home winless streak (0-10-1) with a 6-3 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Rosaire Paiement led the Canucks with a team-record four goals (his first career hat trick).

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Ottawa
3. Los Angeles
4. San Jose
5. Vancouver

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Boston
28. NY Islanders
27. Buffalo
26. NY Rangers

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks seem to have the Red Wings number at home lately and Wednesday was no different. They Jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, prevailing 3-1. Hiller was sensational stopping 46 of 47 shots. The Ducks were firing on all cylinders with Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf leading the charge.

Next though they had to play the Kings in back to back games. They haven’t won the 2^nd game in any of the back to backs this year and this time was no different. They quickly feel behind 4-1 only to crawl back and tie the game 4-4. Dustin Brown scored the game winner on a wide open net, a goal that was poorly defended by Anaheim. They gave up another goal after that and ended up losing 6-4. Memo to NHL book teams playing back to back games as little as possible. I’m pretty sure it can be done.

Next up was the Kings, wait didn’t I just type that, o wait that’s right the NHL doesn’t know how to schedule; either that or this is baseball. It was a great fast paced game with lots of chances. After the 1^st which was tied 1-1 and saw Teemu Selanne net number 597, the Ducks dominated the 2^nd period. Saku Koivu netted the game winner when he scored the puck and then himself. Surprisingly there was no scoring in the 3^rd and the Ducks prevailed 4-2 and got those much needed two points. Unfortunately Ryan Getzlaf sprained his ankle and it didn’t look pretty. X-rays at this point are negative and I hope they stay that way.

Greetings from Seattle, colder and wetter than Southern California, and home to no hockey teams, thank you Gary Bettman.

Wheelings and Dealings – Brian Burke has been a busy man and so has Darryl Sutter. Jean-Sebastian Giguere to Toronto had been rumored all season and finally happened. So it isn’t really surprising. It’s sad to seem him leave Anaheim but in the “what have you done for me lately” world of sports, the answer for Giguere would be nothing. Best of luck in Toronto Jiggy, where you will be re-united with your former goalie coach. Toronto also picked up Dion Phaneuf to help solidify their defense. Most of the time it’s good for a veteran, whose played a while in the same place and is struggling, to go to another team to rejuvenize his career. Toronto sure hopes that is the case this time. Burke had some questionable calls toward the end of his tenure in Anaheim that I didn’t care for. This includes the handling of Bobby Ryan, Andy McDonald, Teemu Selanne, Scott Neidermayer and Dustin Penner. But I like that he is shaking up the Maple Leafs and he is acquiring key pieces without really giving anything up. As good as the Giguere and Phaneuf pickups are, what may really be the best acquisition is how good the 6 foot 6 Keith Aulie ends up being. If he ends up being a star this deal was defiantly more than worth it and then some.

On the other hand…. It’s very interesting to me that I wrote about the Flames last week and how a shake-up was needed, you know get creative. I don’t think this was quite what I had in mind. Darryl Sutter obviously had other thoughts. I’m not sure trading two struggling stars; I used that term loosely, for a bunch of third rate NHL’ers is the way to go. If they would have traded Jay Bouwmeester instead of Phaneuf, and in effect it’s almost the same thing, that would have sent the message, “Hi I’m Darryl Sutter the two moves I made last season to strengthen our team didn’t work, so I am starting over. I also have no idea what this team needs to win the Cup.” Giving up after a year and starting over shows you don’t really know what chemistry your team needs and you have no faith in your players. This certainly doesn’t make a winning combination. I had high hopes for the Flames this year but I don’t think they will be making the playoffs this year. The cup runner up team of 2004 seems so long ago. Neither of the players they received from the Rangers for Olli Jokinen have much of an upside. Plus as I mentioned above if Aulie becomes a star Sutter is really going to be roasted, more so than he is now. Though he probably won’t be in Calgary by the time we know the verdict on Aulie. I’m having a hard time figuring out what the Flames gained in any of these trades. Unless they are just unloading everyone since Niklas Hagman and Ales Kotalik are the only one still under contract after this season. I do wonder if Brandon Prust will make his way back to Calgary as he did when he was traded for Jokinen. It makes you wonder how Prust feels to be traded with the same player he was traded to get just a year ago.

Goalie Spotlight

None this week, will be back next week

Fights of the Week

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

This week had the least amount of fights to pick from this season.

Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond vs. Jay Rosehill

Pretty decent, but messy fight, that features the best French name ever!

Colin White vs Dion Phaneuf

This fight is selected because there are no other decent fights this week and it is the first fight for Phaneuf as a Maple Leaf.

Goat(s) of the Week

Johan Hedberg – Atlanta Thrashers

He didn’t really do anything goatish but he got his jersey stuck over his head and couldn’t see, which is just funny. I’m glad he didn’t get hurt though.

Ryan Miller – Buffalo Sabres

Ryan Miller questionably attempts to clear the puck from behind the net passing it behind his back which bounces off of Tyler Myers into Crosby’s stick and he scores a goal which Miller had a chance to stop but failed again. Not the best sequence for Miller.

Things I like

1. Sidney Crosby almost had a natural hat trick against the Sabres on Monday night. He has really carried the penguins this year, since Malkin has struggled at times this season. Call him Cindy, call him a cheap shot artist, or a whiner but whatever you call him you can’t deny he’s a damn fine hockey player.

2. Hiller shutting out the Panthers after signing his new contract. Ironically he would have gotten the new contract earlier, and Giguere shipped out earlier, if he had played better at the beginning of the season.

3. Speaking of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, he recorded his own shutout in his Toronto debut against the Devils making 30 saves. I expect Giguere will play well for the Maple Leafs and lead them back to respectability.

4. Edmonton won! They beat the mighty Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 in a game I’m sure fans were turned away at the door. All kidding aside this was a much needed victory for the Oilers. Losing 13 games in a row you probably start to question if you can ever win again.

5. Quiet teams like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Ottawa winning and winning a lot lately. I can’t believe Ottawa is 9-1 in their last 10 games. But I guess with the Capitals winning 11 in a row stuff like that happens.

Things I don’t

1. All these slumping teams Edmonton, Calgary, Detroit, Boston, Toronto, New Jersey, NY Rangers. They all have 3 wins or less in their last 10 games. It’s probably been a long time since that has happened.

2. Dan Sexton being reassigned to the Manitoba Moose, that’s a cool team name though. I’ll write some more about this in the Ducks watch below.

3. Mike Green, Capitals, taking out Michael Frolik, Panthers, with an elbow to the head, just a sick defenseless shot. Green received a three game suspension for the hit. Then the next period Mike Green and Dmitry Kulikov hit knee to knee, perhaps karma’s payback. Never good to hit knee to knee and both men leapt off the ice. You can see both hits below.

Stat Line of the Week

01/30/10  Calgary 6 vs. Edmonton 1

Captain Iginla brought his A game as he tried to turn around the sinking ship knows as the Flames. He did an awesome job as he netted 2 goals, 2 assists and gave up no goals while he was on the ice. Unfortunately, this came against the Oilers who are more hapless than the Flames right now. Also the Flames were unable to maintain their momentum losing to the Flyers 3-0 the next game.

Did You Know?

That in the 1993 Stanley Cup Playoffs the eventual champion Canadiens swept the Sabres 4-0 in the 2^nd round but won every game by a score of 4-3. The last three games all went to overtime.

Numbers, Numbers

11 – The current winning streak by the Capitals, the longest in franchise history.

8 – Consecutive losses by the Bruins.

.9325% – Ryan Miller’s save percentage just a hair behind Hasek’s all-time single season record of .9366%.

0 – The number of wins by the Oilers in the month of January.

6,896 – Fans in attendance for the Hurricanes vs. Blackhawks due to snow in the Carolinas.

This Week in Hockey History

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

January 28, 1992 Brett Hull became just the second player in NHL history to record back to back seasons of 50 goals in 50 games (Wayne Gretzky had done so in 1983 & 1984). He scored #50 in a 3-3 Blues’ tie at Los Angeles.

January 29, 1977 The Blizzard of ’77 left many of the Sabres trapped in Buffalo. Only 14 players made it up to Montreal, but they managed to tie the Canadiens, 3-3.

January 30, 2003 Owen Nolan tied a San Jose team record with a goal in his sixth consecutive game, a 4-3 loss to the visiting Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Nolan scored 8 goals in the six games.

January 31, 1982 Grant Fuhr became the first goaltender in Edmonton Oilers history to win 20 games in one season. The milestone 20th victory of the year was a 7-4 win against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.

February 01, 1977 Montreal’s Guy Lafleur began an NHL-record 28 game point scoring streak, with a goal and three assists, in the Canadiens’ 7-3 win over the Barons, at Cleveland. Wayne Gretzky later upped the record to 51 games.

February 02, 1928 Senators’ Alex Connell recorded the second of his NHL-record six consecutive shutouts, with a 1-0 win over the Montreal Maroons, in Ottawa. It was Connell’s 43rd career shutout.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Ottawa
3. Los Angeles
4. San Jose
5. Phoenix

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Boston
28. Calgary
27. Toronto
26. NY Rangers

Anaheim Ducks Watch

Well it looks like I’ll keep this section for now.

In order to make room for newly acquired Jason Blake and the returning Teemu Selanne they moved down Dan Sexton and Matt Beleskey. I don’t particularly care for those moves, particularly the Sexton move. I don’t think Blake and his high salary will add much to the Ducks team. Sexton, while not as hot as he was, is a fast and skilled player. Ryan Carter or Troy Bodie would have been better choices to demote.

The Ducks played the Capitals a day after losing to the Thrashers and as predicted they got crushed 5-1. Playing back to back games especially games that far away is ridiculous. I don’t see how any team would have a chance. In Giguere’s send off game, he gave up 5 goals on 49 shots. Not to shabby considering how under siege he was. The lone goal was scored by the newly demoted Dan Sexton. The Ducks have a funny way of thanking people sometimes.

My last game on Fox Sports Prime Ticket was against the Lightning and it was a good one. The Ducks prevailed 2-1 in a tight contest that showcased the James Wisniewski show. Wisniewski scored the only goal for the Ducks in regulation and then he followed it up with his second consecutive shootout winning goal. The Wisniewski pick-up last year was a really great find for the Ducks and Bob Murray. Hiller had some nice saves as did Niittymaki.

Then in a game no one saw because it wasn’t televised anywhere, the Ducks beat the Panthers 3-0. Truly pathetic that no one broadcasted the game. Selanne made his triumphant return and scored, what else, a powerplay goal. He is just 4 goals shy of joining the 600 goal club. If he can find a way to not get injured again, he will get that this season. The Ducks have the always fun Red Wings up next.

Extinguished Flames? – The Flames were my pick for Northwest division champion. While they were the leader at one point this season, they have since fallen dramatically. They have 7 of their last 8 games including an ugly 9-1 loss to San Jose. Most of their other losses were by 1 or 2 goals, including one in overtime. Captain Jerome Iginla has not played well in their most recent stretch including having a 6 game pointless streak. Dion Phaneuf has struggled offensively and defensively including a minus 4 in that game against the Sharks. Olli Jokinen has been pretty much a bust this season certainly not what the Flames had hoped when they acquired him last season near the end. While he did play well after being acquired, this season he has only 10 goals and is on pace to have his lowest goal total since the 2001-02 season. It’s not like he hasn’t been shooting, his shooting percentage is currently .068 which would also be his lowest since the 01-02 season. Speaking of busts Jay Bouwmeester was added in hopes of giving the Flames that final needed piece after Jokinen. In the whole month of January he has only one assist. He also hasn’t scored a goal since Nov. 14^th. Putrid is the only word I can think of to sum that all up. On paper the Flames have a decent team of course what matters is how you actually play. But they were playing well in November going 10-2-2 at that time and not much has changed. Sometimes it’s just chemistry issues. The Flames biggest problems is lack of goal scoring, I think it’s time for the Flames to start juggling the lines. Iginla is having one of his worst stretches of the year, so take him off the first line so he won’t match up against other team’s top lines. Also how about a line of Iginla, Jokinen and maybe Rene Bourque? It can’t hurt and it’s a lot better then what they have going now. The Ducks started to get hot after they tinkered with their lines. It’s not time to panic yet but the Flames need to get creative to douse their current woes.

Goalie Spotlight

Johan Hedberg – Atlanta Thrashers

After watching him make some awesome saves against the Ducks I figured I would spotlight Hedberg, also know as the “Moose.” The nicknamed was coined when he was quickly called up to play in a game for the Pittsburgh Penguins and he was still wearing his Manitoba Moose (AHL) helmet which also sported a huge moose on the mask.

Hedberg was drafted in the 9^th round by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1994 draft, he never played for them and was traded in 1999 to the San Jose Sharks. He never played for the Sharks either; however he did play for their affiliate the Kentucky Thoroughblades. It wasn’t until he was then traded to the Penguins that he actually played in the NHL. Before his NHL debate Hedberg mainly played in Sweden for Leksands IF. He didn’t make his way back to North America until the 1997-98 season when he played for the Detroit Vipers (IHL). After bouncing around the IHL, AHL, ECHL and Sweden for awhile Hedberg debuted for the Penguins in the 2000-01 season. He only played in 6 games, most of the year he played for the Moose, but the following year he was a regular starter. He ended up leading the league in losses, a record I’m sure he didn’t want. He was then traded to Vancouver and then Dallas before finding a home in Atlanta in 2006. The 2008-09 season was one of Hedberg’s worst. He set career lows in GAA and SV%. He has rebounded nicely this season and so far has career bests in GAA and SV% and has a chance to surpass his previous season high in wins. One highlight of his career was recording two assists in a game while playing for Dallas in 2005. This hadn’t been done since Patrick Roy had two assists in a game in 2000.

Hedberg signed a multi-year extension with the Thrashers in 2008. Currently he is hoping to backstop the Thrashers into the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Fights of the Week

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

Jay Rosehill vs. Matt Walker

Decent fight and then at the end, Walker decks Rosehill.

Nick Boynton vs. Brad Staubitz

Short and sweet fight.

Cam Janssen vs. Brian McGrattan

McGrattan has about 4 inches over Janssen and he pretty much dominated this fight, Janssen did pop off his helmet though.

Goat of the Week

Ray Emery – Philadelphia Flyers

Hey what do you know another goalie as a goat. This time Ray Emery goes behind the net and passes it to Sergei Samsonov of the Hurricanes, oops, and Samsonov makes a nice pass to Rob Brind’Amour.

Things I like

1. The Burrows with the Sedin twins line is on fire, and is right up their with the Sharks line. Burrows with an 11 game point streak and both Sedins have a 5 game point streak going. All told this line has amassed 60 points in 11 games so far this January. This has propelled the Canucks all the way up into 4^th place in the Western Conference.

2. Anze Kopitar has rebounded big with a nice January after having a cold six point December. He has points in 8 of his last 10 games and he was apart of every goal, 1 goal 2 assists, in the Kings huge comeback win against Detroit 3-2. It was huge because it was on the road but also because the Kings and Red Wings are neck in neck in the standings.

3. Eric Staal being named captain of the Carolina Hurricanes. On the one hand it’s a tough role becoming the captain of a team in last past in the conference. On the other hand there isn’t anywhere else to go but up and since this is now a rebuilding year, it’s time for the youth to start leading.

Things I don’t

1. All the Ilya Kovalchuk trade talk rumors. Nothing worse than having to hear a billion scenarios or possible teams a player could be going to. I’m sure it’s even more annoying to him. Most unbelievable scenario was him going to the Blackhawks. Yes I’m sure that will happen.

2. The Oilers now have fewer points than Toronto and Carolina. After how the season started for those two teams you never would have saw this day coming.

3. I wrote about this a month ago but I’m concerned with the success of the Sharks. The more they win and run away with the top seed in the west, the more pressure they will have come playoff time. The Western Conference is especially stacked this year and it’s very possible they will have another 1^st round bounce. I can only imagine how another early round exit will go.

Stat Line of the Week

01/23/10  Montreal 6 vs. New York 0

Cammalleri’s name is not one you hear often but he is having himself a nice little season. Coming off a career year last season, in Calgary, that saw him post career highs in goals and points, Cammalleri leads the Canadiens in goals currently. His four point night help key the 6-0 victory over the Rangers.

Did You Know?

Rob Ray led the NHL in PIM with 261 in the 1998-99 season, while playing for the Sabres. He also had the dubious distinction of not scoring a goal that year.

Numbers, Numbers

127 – Goals for Boston the lowest in the NHL currently.

274 – Goals for Boston last year, when they led the Eastern Conference.

26 – Wins this year so far for Craig Anderson in 43 games for a .604 W%

36 – Wins prior to this year for Anderson in 88 games for a .409 W%

This Week in Hockey History

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

January 21, 2000 Valeri Bure scored at 3:06 of overtime to give the Flames a 5-4 win against the visiting Nashville Predators. It was the Flames’ 9th OT win of the season, a new NHL record. The Winnipeg Jets held the old mark with 8 OT wins in 1987-88.

January 22, 1987 A snowstorm in New Jersey delayed the game between the Devils and Flames for two hours. When it finally started, only 334 fans were on hand to see the Devils beat the Flames 7-5. The game ended at 11:44 PM.

January 23, 1972 Chicago’s Bobby Hull extended his team-record point scoring streak to 21 games in the Black Hawks’ 4-0 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs. Hull scored 23 goals, 12 assists for a total of 35 points during the 21 game streak.

January 24, 1998 Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne scored his 250th career NHL goal in the Mighty Ducks’ 3-3 tie against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.

January 25, 1996 The Ottawa Senators set an NHL record with their 16th consecutive home game without a win (0-15-1) in a 4-2 loss to Detroit at the Palladium. They broke the old record of 15 shared by the 1928 Black Hawks & 1939 Canadiens.

January 26, 2002 Eric Lindros scored once to give him 20 goals in each of his nine NHL seasons, and Theoren Fleury added his 20th goal of the year for the 12th time in his career as the Rangers won 6-3 against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Washington
2. San Jose
3. Anaheim
4. Vancouver
5. Philadelphia

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Calgary
28. Toronto
27. Boston
26. NY Rangers

Yikes the last 3 teams are all Canadian, not happy times in Canada for hockey fans these days.

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks started their long six game road trip in the Shark Tank. Anaheim has lost all four meeting against the Sharks this year coming into the game. You can make it five after the loss on Thursday. Both teams had chances and the Ducks actually out shot the Sharks. Beleskey had the only goal for the Ducks and it was a pretty one at that. In the end the Sharks were the better team, full avenging their playoff exit from last season.

Next up were the Blues an important game standing wise and the Ducks sure made it interesting. Down 3-0 in the 3^rd all seemed lost. But then Niedermayer scored to put the Ducks on the board. Then the Bobby Ryan show took over as Ryan scored his 23^rd and 24^th goal of the year. The 34^th came with just 30 seconds left in the game. Ryan did however miss the 3^rd shootout shot, the first duck to miss, which would have given them the win. Instead it took 7 rounds for the Ducks to get the win.

Next for the Ducks were the Thrashers in a game they really needed to have because they play back to back games and their next opponent is the Capitals. Unfortunately the Ducks didn’t play all that well and lost 2-1, though at times they did have their chances. A couple of really dumb penalties at the end really sealed Anaheim’s fate. Sexton’s hooking call was a bad call by the refs but Whitney’s boarding call was just a bad move on Whitney’s part. Atlanta also had a questionable non call penalty towards the end, can’t remember who was involved.

Not sure what the future of this section holds, seeing as how I’m leaving Southern California, I won’t be able to watch the local broadcasts anymore and watching online isn’t always reliable. But maybe I’ll still do it. Either way I hope the Ducks make the playoffs this year.

The NHL has become a league of tremendous highs and tremendous lows one moment you are on a five-game winning streak the next you are on a 5-game losing streak.  Look up and down the standings and you notice only 8 points separate 5^th place from 13^th place in the East and 11 points from 5^th place to 13^th in the West. 

I honestly think this is good for the league the more parity that revolves around the NHL the more cities that have a shot at enjoying the best time of the year, Stanley Cup Playoffs!  So in this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick I will look at the top three inconsistent teams in each conference and what will be their fate for the rest of the season.

Eastern Conference

Ottawa Senators:

The team that traded own of their biggest stars in the off season (Dany Heatly) and has played most of the year without Jason Spezza (23 games missed) and also saw Daniel Alfredsson (12 games missed) miss some time has been the model of inconsistency.  Other than those big injuries goaltending has been up and down for Ottawa so much that they have already fired their goaltending coach.  Last years big time pick up Pascal LeClairhas split time withBrian Elliott and both goalies have had string of 3-straight losses. LeClair has brought his injury prone nature to Ottawa heading to IR twice, for a broken jaw (16 games missed) and currently on IR for a concussion. 

Already in the month of January the Senators have had a 5-game winning streak and are currently on a 6-game winning streak.  I believe the Senators will be a surprise playoff team this year as they will get a boast from having Spezza, Alfredsson and Milan Michalek back in the lineup especially on the power play, which has been ranked near the bottom all year.  Goaltending would be the only drawback for this team but getting LeClair healthy and playing solid defense in front of Elliot will help this team try to play more consistent hockey.

Philadelphia Flyers:

The pre-season pick by the Hockey News to win the Stanley Cup has already fired their head coach went on a stretch where they won 12 of 16 then lost 14 of 17 and now currently have won 11 out of the last 15, talk about your roller coaster of a season. 

The team struggled with chemistry and injuries to depth players and their number one goalie.  They have seem to find their strength in playing good special teams and finally relying on their balanced scoring attack that made them so successful last season.  Everyone points to the goaltending situation in Philadelphia and for good reason as they have had a rotating door of goalies for playoff runs. 

The underrated stat behind this team is they are near the top of the league in shots against per game and blocked shots which go a long way to help out a goaltender.  This team has too much talent to not be involved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and look for the crafty Paul Holmgren to make a move or two at the trade deadline.

New York Rangers:

Not much was expected of the Rangers this season as most people expected Marion Gaborik to already be injured as the team continues to struggle to score goals and rely heavily on Henrik Lundqvist.  Well, Gaborik has been as advertised scoring 29 goals and only missing two games due to injury and Lundqvist has been his normal spectacular self being in the top 10 of the league in all major goalie categories. 

The cause of inconsistency for this team has been the major dry spells the depth players behind Gaborik have endured.  Only three Rangers have double digit goals (Gaborik, U.S. Olympian Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky) and there is a 25 point gap between Gaborik and the next top point getter on the team.      

The Rangers have already been rumored to be after Vincent Lecavalier and of course will be mentioned in the Iyla Kovalchuck sweepstakes but unless Glen Sathergives up some of his young guns and picks to acquire those big name scorers I expect the Rangers fatal flaws, no scoring depth, to rear their ugly head and cause them to be reaching for a spot to the playoff party towards the end of the season.

Western Conference

Calgary Flames:

Another pre-season pick to be much higher than their current standing the Calgary Flames have been an enigma that is hard to figure out.  Are they a high scoring team or a defensive team?  That has been the toughest question to answer. The Flames opened up the season with 3.67 goals per game in October and followed that with an amazing 1.93 GAA in November. 

Lately they haven’t done either as they have been outscored 33 to15 in losing eight of their last nine.  The steady decline of Olli Jokinen has been the hot topic around Calgary as he has saw his goal total shrink as his age rises.  The emergence of Rene Bourque as a consistent scorer has been a pleasant surprise but the offensive struggle and plus minus rating of top defenseman Dion Phaneuf have rumors swirling of his departure for much needed scoring depth. 

General Manager Darryl Sutterhas been making a whirlwind tour of press boxes around the NHL to start the whispering that change is coming in Calgary.  The team just needs to find some sort of identity with new coach Brent Sutter.  I think trading Phaneuf will overall help this organization, they did add Bouwmeester so will still have a young defenseman to build around and can you imagine the return for this talented player.

Detroit Red Wings:

The normal organizational depth that has kept the Red Wings afloat for so long has now failed them.  Yes, their have been as many big injuries in Motown this season then in others but the difference is this use to be a team that no matter who was wearing the Red Wings jersey the team continued to win.  The Red Wings could field an all-star team from the players currently on IR (Holmstrom, Franzen, Jason Williams, Kronwall, and Lilja). 

Their offense has done one thing consistently this season, by being ranked near the bottom of the league for most of the first half.  Superstars Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom are all behind their normal points pace.  The one biggest surprise that has kept the team afloat is the development of net minder Jimmy Howard. The former second round pick has been spectacular being ranked near the top of the league in both save percentage and goals against.  The 25-year-old has lost back-to-back only once this season and has had two three-game winning streaks.

The Red Wings as always will be active at the trade deadline, that is the time Ken Holland shows why he is one of the best GM in the league, but also they will get a boast from injured players returning to the lineup.  This team got old very quickly, playing in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, but still post a threat to not only make the playoffs but make some noise.

Anaheim Ducks:

Another team that struggled out of the gate and has been struggling to find its way back and stay healthy, the Ducks will be a team to watch closely as we get closer to the trade deadline.  The Ducks have two big restricted free agents (Bobby Ryan and James Wisniewski and seven unrestricted free agents including current starting goalie Jonas Hiller.  They could be in dumping mode or they could be in adding mode as they are a team to struggle to find consistency.

The main problem has been that neither of the goalies has been spectacular.  Former Con Smyth and Stanley Cup Champion Jean-Sebastien Giguere is one of the most expensive backup goalies in the league while the 26-year-old Hiller has not impressed in his 1^st season as the primary starter. 

Another big question the Ducks will face is whether to trade some of their veterans on the last years of contracts.  Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu could all bring back some returns for a team looking to add some much needed veteran’s presence in the playoffs.  The team’s core has shifted to Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan up front and Ryan Whitney, James Wisniewski on the back end but it will be up to GM Bob Murray on who will be minding the nets for this year and beyond and that will be the difference for an inconsistent team on the fringe of the playoff chase.

Which is the best division? – The Pacific division is one of only two divisions with every team to have at least 50 points. They also boast the NHL’s top team in the Sharks. Dallas and Anaheim have also won the cup in the past decade. On the opposite side the Atlantic division boasts all teams over 50 points plus recent cup winners Pittsburgh and multiple cup winner, this past decade, in the Devils. Those two are my top picks for best division. Both divisions have a great shot at getting four teams into the playoffs. A close third is the Northwest division. Other than Edmonton everyone is playing well and it should come down to the wire for the division crown. Colorado has also won a cup this decade. The Central division is next, boasting multiple cup winner Detroit and the resurgent Blackhawks. Next to last would be the Northeast. Despite the storied histories of Boston, Toronto and Montreal this Division and those clubs have fallen on hard times as of late. It also looks like Boston’s resurgence last year was more of a mirage. No cups in almost 20 years and Toronto has been rebuilding for what seems like forever. I think it’s easy to pick the worst division other than the Capitals, every team is at 50 points or below in the Southeast. No team seems likely to make the playoffs other than the Capitals, a shame I had high hopes for Tampa Bay this year. They do however, surprisingly, boast two recent cup winners in Tampa Bay and Carolina. Imagine that, more cups for the Sun Belt teams than all of the Canadian teams the past 15 years.

Goalie Spotlight

Jimmy Howard – Detroit Red Wings

Who is that in net for Detroit? You ask, that would be Jimmy Howard. With Hasek retired and Chris Osgood riding the bench, the goalie duties have fallen to Jimmy Howard. Not a bad move by Detroit either. It’s been a strange year for Hockeytown and why not get a look at Howard, 25, who is much younger than Osgood, 36, which gives him much more of an upside.

Born in Syracuse New York, Howard started playing for the U.S National team development program under 17 and under 18 teams. In 2002 he led the USA to gold in the IIHF World Championships where he was named USA goalie of the year. Howard next went to the University of Maine where he played for three seasons. He holds both single season and career school records in GAA, shutouts and SV%. He also holds NCAA records for GAA and SV% for the 03-04 season. He was drafted in the second round by Detroit in 2003.

Howard played for the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL. His first year was successful as he was named to the AHL’s all-rookie team and was apart of the Griffins franchise’s longest winning streak. In the four seasons prior to this season Howard started in 6 games. He only won one of those and while he posted a respectable 2.76 GAA his SV% was a paltry .896. Howard was expected to compete with Ty Conklin for Osgood’s back up job this season, however the Red Wings elected not to offer Conklin a new contract. So Howard ended up receiving the role. Osgood struggled this season and after starting the first 20 games the Red Wings deciding to give Howard the starting job. Howard has responding by posting the best numbers of his very brief NHL career. He posted his first NHL shutout against the Lightning and he currently boasts a GAA of 2.18 and a SV% .928. Howard is hoping a strong showing this year will solidify him as the top netminder in Detroit for a long time to come. Detroit hopes that as well, as they continue to seek their 19^th consecutive playoff berth.

Fights of the Week

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

Kris Versteeg vs. Patrick Eaves

The NBC game of week had a pretty good fight. Kind of dumb that NBC starts showing hockey during football playoffs so I didn’t even watch this game.

Josh Gorges vs. Sean Avery

Avery has been kind of quiet this year, I think this is the first highlighted fight for him from me. It’s not the greatest but its slim pickings in fights this week.

Eric Nystrom vs. Kyle Chipchura

Okay fight, Chipchura gets busted open pretty bad.

Goat of the Week

NBC

Well like I mentioned above, I didn’t watch NBC’s Sunday game of the week but apparently NBC’s coverage of the game was pretty pathetic.  Between explaining basic hockey rules and actually missing a live goal because they ran a promo and then recapped the previous action. Thank goodness for replay huh NBC? Of course you shouldn’t expect much with NBC these days with the way they handle the late night shows. Yes I’m with Coco.

Things I like

1. Despite refs hating him, Alex Burrows has been on a roll as of late. He has a 7 game point streak going currently. He is currently on pace to score way more points than he ever has in his career.

2. Patrick Kane has put all of that cabbie mess behind him and is currently the leading scorer on the Blackhawks. He is also 5^th overall in the league in scoring and he should set a career high in all categories.

3. Anaheim’s recent winning ways and home dominance. The Ducks have won 8 in a row at the Honda Center, it will always be the Pond in my book, and 7 of their last 8 games overall. They have now crept back into playoff contention similarly to what they did last year.

Things I don’t

1. Because of the Olympic break there won’t be an All-Star game. It’s not that big of a deal but the game is fun to watch and good for marketing. Plus we can’t watch Pittsburgh and Detroit fans stuff the online voting.

2. The Oilers only bright spot Dustin Penner has points in only 3 out of the past 12 games and a -7 overall. Despite he recently lack of scoring he still leads the team in goals and points by a comfortable margin. Just another reason the Oilers aren’t winning.

3. How bout them Rangers? Talk about inconsistency. The Rangers scored one goal in their previous three games before scoring a combined 14 goals in the next two games. They’ve pretty much been everywhere in the standings this year too, from 1^st all the way down to 12^th and everywhere in between.

Stat Line of the Week

01/15/10  Washington 6 vs. Toronto 1

Ovechkin had another one of those games, amassing 5 points in just under 18 minutes of ice time. Amazingly he is 2^nd in scoring so far and he has played, in most cases, 10 games less than the players around him.

Did You Know?

That Mario Lemieux is the only player to lead the league in scoring while missing more than 20 games in the last 30 years. Lemieux led the league in scoring in the 1992-93 season, with 160 points in only 60 games played. Not too shabby.

Numbers, Numbers

8 – The number of games Alex Ovechkin doesn’t have a point this season, out of 41 games played.

7 – Ovechkin’s current point streak, his highest of the season so far.

2 – Number of games Henrik Sedin doesn’t have at least 1 point, out of his last 22 games.

-9 – Brad Richards’ plus/minus number, the only player in the top 10 in points with a minus.

This Week in Hockey History

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

January 14, 1997 Martin Brodeur became the second goalie in Devils’ franchise history to record 100 victories. The milestone came in a 4-2 win over Boston. It was the start of a 14 game unbeaten streak (8-0-6) for Brodeur.

January 15, 1997 Edmonton goalie Curtis Joseph stopped 40 shots for his team-record 5th shutout of the season (breaking Grant Fuhr’s 1987-88 mark) in the Oilers’ 4-0 win over the visiting Florida Panthers. It was Joseph’s 10th career shutout.

January 16, 1974 Bruins’ captain Johnny Bucyk became the eighth player in NHL history to score 450 career goals, as Boston tied 5-5 at Chicago.

January 17, 1943 Trailing 2-0 with two minutes to play and 15,000 Chicago fans filing out, the Red Wings scored twice, with Sid Abel getting the tying goal with :01 remaining in the game, as the Wings and Black Hawks settled for a 2-2 tie.

January 18, 1958 Boston’s Harry Lumley set an NHL record when his first shutout of the season (a 3-0 win over Montreal) gave him one (or more) shutouts in 14 straight seasons. He broke the record of 13 straight seasons set by John Roach (1922-23 thru 1934-35).

January 19, 1971 Gordie Howe appeared in a record 14th consecutive All-Star game, and in his 22nd in 23 NHL seasons. The 14 straight games eclipsed the mark of 13 straight set by Maurice Richard. The West beat the East, 2-1 in Boston.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Buffalo
2. Chicago
3. San Jose
4. Anaheim
5. NY Islanders

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Toronto
28. Columbus
27. Calgary
26. Dallas

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks played the Bruins at home in one of the more amazing games I’ve seen in quite some time. It had everything you could ask for too. A couple of fights, amazing goalie saves, injuries, big goals by key guys, ties and lead changes. The Ducks prevailed by getting balanced scoring, 4-3, but unfortunately lost their future hall of famer again. It really sucks to watch Teemu Selanne break his jaw when he just came back from a broken hand. Sometimes you just have no luck and it seems like that is the case with Selanne these days.

Next was a huge divisional game against the cross-town rival Kings. Unfortunately the Ducks must have missed the memo that the game was the day after the Bruins game because they just didn’t bother to show up. Not sure why the Ducks haven’t been playing Giguere, there isn’t any reason why Hiller should have to play back to back games when Giguere was named to the all-decade second team, I mean honestly. In the 3^rd period the Ducks just lost it with all those penalties and Bobby Ryan with his stupid hit and game misconduct at the end. This is one of those games you’d like to forget but it happens to every team every now and then.

Against the Flames Brian Hayward actually said “coast to coast like buttered toast” on Evgeny Artyukhin’s goal, I have to admit I’ve never heard that before. It doesn’t really make that much sense either. I did however dig his reference to this game to the kind of games the Oiler teams of the 80’s played. Between the four NFL playoff games and this game, I watched way too many games this weekend. Anyway the Ducks shows some grit in this game. After being behind 1 goal the Ducks scored 3 unanswered goals only to have the Flames score three unanswered goals themselves. The Ducks rallied back in the 3^rd scoring the last 2 goals to take the win 5-4.

Next up was the Sabres game I saw in person. The game had sentimental reasons for me as it’ll probably be the last game I attend for the foreseeable future as I make my move to the Pacific Northwest. Ryan Miller didn’t get the start which surprised me and I was annoyed and happy about that. I was annoyed because I wanted to see one of the top goalies play but happy because that gives the Ducks a better chance to win. It was an exciting game and Getzlaf scored a mere 19 seconds into the game with a pretty rebound goal. After about 10 minutes into the 1^st period, it was 4-0 Ducks and life was good. The Sabres pulled Lalime for Miller, so I knew goals would not come as easily. Two goals were also waved off in the game one for the Ducks and one for the Sabres, I thought both were good calls. But then Anaheim started their collapse a little earlier than normal and before you knew it the score was 4-3 after two periods. Ryan Getzlef was also hit right above the eye with a puck and left the game with a trail of blood. This seemed eerily similar to what happened to Teemu Selanne. Luckily Getzlaf was able to return later. Troy Bodie, of all people, scored the game winner off a turnover. The Sabres were able to mange one more goal after they pulled Miller but the Ducks prevailed 5-4. All in all a great game, no fights though, boo.

No more oil in the well – Ah the Edmonton Oilers when you think of the Oilers you probably think Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Lowe, Fuhr, Coffey. The list goes on and on or you might think of the five championships they won in the 80’s with those players. Lately though it’s been mostly doom and gloom, having not made the playoffs the past three years and they don’t look to be breaking that streak this year. But give them credit for making the 05-06 Stanley Cup Finals.

Despite the awful starts the Hurricanes and Maple leafs had the Oilers have almost caught up to them or more accurately slid down to them. When Dwayne Roloson, 40, left in the off season the Oilers hoped to upgrade their position. So they signed Nikolai Khabibulin, 37 slightly younger, who had just led the Blackhawks to the western conference finals. Unfortunately that didn’t really workout as planned. Khabibulin has for the most part been disappointing and made a couple of gaffes in the beginning of the season that cost the Oilers some games. He also has been on the injured list since the middle of November. Personally I think it’s for the best, they really need to find their goalie of the future and not just rotate old guys. Unfortunately he is signed for another three seasons after this season. Right now the Oilers are going with Jeff Deslauriers. He hasn’t performed all that well, though he has only started in 32 games in his NHL career thus far. Personally they should be playing Devan Dubnyk they drafted him 14^th overall in 2004, time to give him his shot. While he hasn’t exactly lit it up in the AHL, everyone deserves a chance.

Offensively other than the reemergence of Dustin Penner not much has gone right for the Oilers. Alex Hemsky was playing well, again, but he is gone for the season with his torn shoulder. Nobody else strikes fear into opponents. I think they really should go after somebody via free agency or a trade. IIya Kovalchuk is a possibility via one of those options. Whether he would want to play in Edmonton is a different story. It’s defiantly worth a shot though and it would give Edmonton the kind of pure scorer they have lacked. It’s also time to start bringing up the young guys to see what they have. Charles Linglet has played well for the Springfield Falcons, he should be brought up and given a good luck.

Needless to say what they are doing now is not working. It’s time for a shake-up and to get the youth movement going.

Goalie Spotlight

No time this week.

Fights of the Week

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

Rick Rypien vs. Brandon Prust

Your Rick Rypien fight of the week, these two went at it again a period later, this fight was better though.

David Koci vs. Brian McGrattan

8^th fight between these two, great punches by both.

Paul Bissonnette vs. Darcy Hordichuk

This fight would have been better if the camera guy didn’t miss half of it. Nice final punch by Hordichuk.

Chris Neil vs. Eric Boulton

Eric Boulton had the edge in this one.

Dave Steckel vs. Zenon Konopka

Nice tussle, Konopka connected with some nice punches.

Goat of the Week

Stephane Auger – Referee

For his pre-game chat and questionable calls against Alex Burrows in the Vancouver Canucks game against the Nashville Predators. The video has the 2^nd more atrocious call.

Things I like

1. The Philadelphia Flyers have finally responded to their new coach and have started to turn their season around. They always had the talent it’s just a matter of piecing it together. Except for the game against Ottawa Michael Leighton has played well during the winning streak. Mike Richards and Chris Pronger both have 5 game point streaks currently.

2. Despite the fact that the Sabres have Ryan Miller I’m still surprised they have been in 1^st place in their division for so long. Buffalo is the only division leader without a points scorer in the top 25.

3. Watch out for the Islanders NHL. 7-2-1 in their last 10 and winners of four of their past five, the Islanders seem to be coming together. This includes a total dismantling of the Red Wings last night 6-0. Former 1^st overall pick of the draft Rick DiPietro has also made his return to the island.

Things I don’t

1. The controversy surrounding Alex Burrows and Ref Auger. Just some bad calls in general, I think I could see if he called holding the stick but diving it certainly was not. Either way it was incidental and the interference call was just horrible. I would have called diving on Joel Ward. I also don’t care for the NHL’s failure to punish Auger at all, yet they fine Burrows for shame NHL. This kind of stuff ruins the integrity of the game.

2. Evgeni Malkin hasn’t scored a goal in nine games dating back to his hat trick against Ottawa. He has only 5 goals in 19 games in December and January. The Penguins also still have the 2^nd worst powerplay.

3. The Chicago Blackhawks who seemingly were manhandling the wild 5-1 after two periods, only to give up four goals on seven shots in the 3^rd period forcing the game into overtime. The Blackhawks then ended up losing in the 8^th round of the shootout, 6-5. You have to play the whole 60 minutes Chicago.

Stat Line of the Week

01/08/10  Buffalo 3 vs. Toronto 2

Tyler Myers rookie campaign has been a successful one thus far in Buffalo. He scored two goals and added an assist, all on the powerplay, having a hand in all the Sabres goals. Myers is 5^th in the league in rookie scoring.  A feat made all the more impressive because he is a defenseman. He also leads all rookies in assists.

Did You Know?

That Curtis Joseph is the only goalie in the top 10, for wins all-time, that has never won a Stanley Cup. His best finish in the postseason was the Eastern Conference finals with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Numbers, Numbers

2,500 – Dollar amount for the fine on Alex Burrows for talking out about the referring of Stephane Auger.

0 – Games suspended or amount fined for the pre game talk and questionable calls by Stephane Auger.

454 – Wins by recently retired Curtis Joseph, 4^th on the all-time list.

94 – Goals allowed by the New Jersey Devils the only team not to reach 100 yet.

45 – Saves by Henrik Lundqvist out of 45 shots, yet he still lost in the shootout.

This Week in Hockey History

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

January 07, 2000 Joe Sakic became the Colorado franchise all-time leader in games, when he appeared in his 814th career game with the team, a 4-1 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Sakic replaced Michel Goulet, and picked up two assists in the game.

January 07, 1989 Vancouver’s Tony Tanti scored his club-record 10th hat trick and set a new team record for fastest 3 goals (6:46), as the Canucks defeated Pittsburgh 7-5. Tanti also added an assist

January 08, 1988 Flames’ rookie Brett Hull scored twice and added two assists as Calgary beat the Islanders 7-4, to extend their home undefeated streak against New York to 8 games (6-0-2).

January 09, 1993 New York’s Mike Gartner became the first player in NHL history to get 25 goals in each of his first 14 seasons, when he scored twice for the Rangers in a 4-3 loss at Philadelphia.

January 10, 1992 Washington Capitals set a team record with three shorthanded goals (including two in :18) during a 7-4 win over the Kings, at Landover, Maryland. Kevin Hatcher led the scoring with two goals and two assists.

January 11, 1941 Dave “Sweeney” Schriner had a goal and three assists, and Turk Broda recorded his 23rd career shutout as the Maple Leafs beat the NY Americans, 9-0 in Toronto. It was the Leafs’ second consecutive penalty-free game — a first in NHL history.

January 12, 1994 Winnipeg’s Teemu Selanne scored his 100th NHL goal in a 3-2 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The milestone came in Selanne’s 130th career game, the second-fastest 100 goals in NHL history. (Bossy scored his first 100 goals in 129 games).

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Philadelphia
2. San Jose
3. Buffalo
4. Chicago
5. Vancouver

Bottom 5

30. Edmonton
29. Toronto
28. Atlanta
27. Pittsburgh
26. Los Angeles

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks have finally gotten healthy and have a four game winning steak going because of it, their longest of the season so far. Anaheim’s second win in the streak was against the St. Louis Blues, a team near them in the standings. Rookie Matt Beleskey scored his second goal in as many games to help propel Anaheim to victory 4-2. The Ducks were actually down 2-1 in the 3^rd but rattled off 3 goals. Beleskey’s was the game winner and the Ducks also scored an empty netter to seal the deal.

Next up was the Predators another team the Ducks are trying to catch up to in the Standings. This game saw the return of Teemu Selanne, from a broken hand, who scored the games first goal. Ryan Getzlaf also scored his first goal since coming back from his injury. The Ducks took their 3 goal lead into the 3^rd period and saw their lead cut to 1, but they were able to hang on for the win, 3-2.

Next up were the Blackhawks coming off their stunning defeat against the Wild 6-5. Despite being out shot 43 to 11 the Ducks somehow managed to eek out a victory 3-1. Hiller was phenomenal on the road helping to steal the victory for the Ducks. Perry, Koivu and Selanne (empty net) added the goals for the Ducks. The Ducks have about a month before the Olympic break to make up a lot of ground in the standings.