A mile high worth of injuries – The physical toll of a grinding hockey schedule takes down many skilled players every year. Five teams have five or more players currently on injured reserve. The Avalanche, Islanders, Flames and Wild each have five. The Devils have six. While Zach Parise is obviously the biggest named of the IR bunch, I would have to say the Avalanche are the most hit of all the teams. Most improved goalie of last year Craig Anderson was on injured reserve for a few weeks and then was finally brought back up, only to be injured again in his 2^nd game back. Anderson is currently on injured reserve again for his groin, though his duration this time should be less than last time. Of course the biggest name of the Avs injured reserve list would be Peter Mueller. Mueller (no relation ) has yet to play a regular season game so far because of his lingering symptoms from his concussion. Mueller was figured to play an integral part on the Avalanche’s top line this season. T.J Galiardi occupied Mueller’s top spot on the line only to wind up on injured reserve himself. On the opposite side of the top line Chris Stewart, who is having a breakout year so far, recently broke his hand while fighting. While he is not on injured reserve yet, he doesn’t look to be coming back anytime soon. The Avs have had to rely on career journeyman Greg Mauldin to for spots on the top line and have moved up David Jones. Both have filled in admirably though and more on Mauldin further down the column. Further proving that the LW position is cursed, David Van der Gulik is also on injured reserve. The blueline is not spared by the injury bug. Defenseman Kyle Cumisky is on injured reserve and veteran defenseman Adam Foote is day to day with his leg injury.

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

Goalie Spotlight

Ondrej Pavelec – Atlanta Thrashers

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Matt Hunwick vs. Evander Kane

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

Shawn Thornton vs. Eric Boulton

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

Cam Janssen vs. John Scott

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

Goats of the Week

Andy Sutton – Anaheim Ducks

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

Erik Johnson – St. Louis Blues

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

11/27/10 Colorado 7 vs. Minnesota 4

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

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

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

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

3 – Alexander Semin hat tricks this season

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

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

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

Quotes of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh

2. Detroit

3. Atlanta

4. Phoenix

5. Chicago

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Los Angeles

28. Toronto

27. Ottawa

26. St. Louis

So how about those southern teams? – I wrote this about a year ago.

“NHL teams losing money – First Phoenix and now Columbus. The Coyotes troubles are well documented and despite the NHL’s best efforts the Coyotes really should really leave Phoenix. However don’t tell that to Commissioner Gary Bettman he doesn’t want to hear it. Now it is being reported that the Columbus Blue Jackets are losing on average 12 million a year.

Phoenix is dead last in attendance this year and has lost about 30 million in some seasons. Of course with team ownership up in the air many fans don’t want to invest money into a team that may not be there. The Coyotes were also near the bottom in attendance last year.

Columbus is 22nd in attendance capacity this year and was 2nd to last two seasons ago. Columbus is the 32nd largest US metro area not the largest by any means and not that smallest either, but only three teams play in front of smaller markets. The Blue Jackets also have to pay 5 million a year to use the arena. So that really doesn’t help their financial situation.

I think the NHL and Bettman really need to think harder before they place teams and try to keep teams in markets. A successful team depends on two things a large market and a large hockey or sports fan market. Phoenix and Atlanta (another money loser) are two top 12 markets, however neither care about hockey. Atlanta in general isn’t much of a sports market. None of their professional team are in the top 50% of attendance and the Atlanta Hawks are usually at the bottom like the Thrashers. Columbus and Carolina are also small markets with skeptical hockey fan bases, though Carolina fares a little better then Columbus, and then there’s Nashville and Florida(Miami).

For the life of me I don’t know why Bettman thought it was a good choice to put teams in some of these locations. I don’t have a problem, unlike most fans, of Bettman moving the teams out of Winnipeg and Hartford. I just question where he decided to move them to and when he decides to keep them there, even when it is a no win situation. For the life of me I can’t comprehend why Seattle and/or Portland, OR does not have a hockey team. Seattle is the 15th largest market and Portland is the 23rd largest. They both have built-in hockey fan bases and Seattle could really create a nice rivalry with Vancouver. They both do fairly well with WHL attendance. I imagine the NHL would do even better.”

A year later not much has changed. Guess who is dead lost in attendance this season? The Atlanta Thrashers and who is a close second? The Phoenix Coyotes. People use the excuse of well they aren’t winning franchises. True, but how many cups have the Canucks or Capitals ever won? Not to mention weren’t Toronto and Edmonton the worst teams last year and they both sold out like every single game? I agree wining helps and having star players help too. Before Crosby and Malkin got to Pittsburgh things looked bleak. But you really need to have an owner committed to winning in a city that’s on the bubble. It doesn’t seem like any of these cities have owners that do. I also realize that not every season will you play to jam packed crowds. The Blues had some really bad years of turnout before they rebounded this year and last year with about 100% capacity (even thought they didn’t make the playoffs last season). Realistically you should be able to get 85% of the arena full on average. Since the economy is bad a more realistic 75% for this season would do. The Thrashers, Coyotes, Blue Jackets and Islanders are all under 75% capacity. The Coyotes hit rocked bottom the other day when a whopping 6000+ fans came to a home game. This is a team that made the playoffs last season. You also can’t use the ownership situation excuse as a reason because Bettman has stubbornly said they will not leave Phoenix. If fans won’t come out to consistently support their team, the NHL should think of moving the franchises to cities that will.

Goalie Spotlight

Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators

Finnish born Rinne is one of the bigger goalies in the league at 6-5. He started out his career playing for Oulun Kärpät in the SM-liiga league, the top league in Finland. He started out in their junior system before being called up to serve as a backup to Niklas Bäckström. He was apart of the championships team with Kärpät in 2004 and 2005. Rinne was drafted in the 8^th round by the Predators, 258^th overall.

He was then sent to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. He secured the top goalie job with the admirals rather easily, he even played in two game for the Predators in the 2005-06 season. Strangely during that summer he was roughed up by unknown assailants which caused him to miss four months of the following season. His stellar play for the Admirals coupled with Dan Ellis’ fine 2007-08 season enabled the Predators to move starter Chris Mason. Although originally only meant to backup Ellis, Rinne quickly assumed the starting position. He was rookie of the month for February 2009 and he even sent a Predators franchise record with seven shutouts in a season. He ended up tying his own shutout record again the following season.

Rinne is off to a hot start this season currently 3^rd in GAA (1.58) and 2^nd in SV% (.955). Goaltending mate Anders Lindback, who is actually even an inch taller, is also off to a decent start and they have helped catapult the Predators to one of the best records in the league. The Predators hope it will continue, as they look to make it to the playoffs for the 2^nd straight season and hopefully advance past the 1^st round for the first time in their history.

Fights of the Week

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

Derek Boogaard vs. Shawn Thornton

More of a grappling match, Thornton handles the Boogie man well. He even lands a nice one right in Boggie’s face. The refs break it up to early though.

Deryk Engelland vs. Kevin Klein

I picked this fight mostly because it was funny watching Klein trying to goad Malkin into a fight, which of course didn’t happen.

Goat of the Week

Craig Anderson – Colorado Avalanche

The infamous goalie leaves his crease and bad things happen is back. Anderson leaves to try and beat Brad Richardson to the puck but stupidly clears it off the near boards right to Jarret Stoll who slings it to Richardson who puts it into the wide open goal for his 2nd of three that night. I wouldn’t have played the puck like Anderson did in the first place but I’m not really sure why it took Anderson so look to get back to the net or at least a lot closer then he was.

Steve Mason – Atlanta Thrashers

Mason leaves his crease, but not as far as Anderson did, and makes a bad pass behind his net that Alexander Semin capitalizes on. Semin’s other two goals follow in the clip.

Things I like

1. All those hat tricks. Alexander Semin, John Tavares, Brad Richardson, Steven Stamkos, Rene Bourque, Lee Stempniak and Daniel Alfredsson each had one this week. Though Stempniak and Alfredsson each got their last goal on an empty netter. Only Tavares’ hat trick was in a losing effort. Three hat tricks on Friday and three hat tricks on Saturday is always fun to watch. You might say the days had their own hat tricks.

2. Speaking of Steven Stamkos he has picked up right where he left off left season, lighting up arenas nationwide. As an added bonus, Stamkos gets to stick it to Steve Yzerman nightly who passed over him for a Canadian Olympic roster spot. Of course since Yzerman is now the Lightning GM, I’m pretty sure he’s smiling.

3. Only one team has yet to lose in regulation and that would be the umm… the Nashville Predators? Yes that’s right, the Nashville Predators who are also undefeated on the road. It’s good for hockey in that region if they can sustain it. The goaltending duo of Pekka Rinne and Anders Lindback, their 7^th round selection in ’08, (both mentioned above) are playing exceptionally well. Though I can’t really see the Predators taking the division crown over the Blackhawks and the Red Wings in the long run.

4. Who said the Bruins were Tuukka Rask’s team? Tim Thomas is currently the NHL leader in in SV% (.980) and GAA (0.75) through four games. A good reason why the Bruins were smart not to move him. Nathan Horton has also fit in better with the Bruins then they could have ever imagined. He is 1^st on the team in goals (5) and points (9). Though the Bruins are still one of the lower scoring teams in the league, I would hate to see where they would be without him.

Things I don’t

1. As the Devil turns. Well they say that Devils like it hot but nobody can like it as hot and as uncomfortable as it’s getting in New Jersey. First not winning and then Ilya Kovalchuk is a healthy scratch. Word is then apparently leaked that nobody wanted to sign Kovalchuk except Owner Jeff Vanderbeek. GM Lou Lamoriello denies that but what is he really going to say? Kovy is not a team player and he doesn’t play defense well. Basically he is not a good fit but let’s keep him in New Jersey for life anyway. Makes sense right?

2. The Edmonton Oilers have not won a game since they started 2-0. They’ve had four straight losses culminating in a bad loss to the Sharks 6-1, in which they made many mistakes in their own zone that led to most of the Sharks goals. The Oilers have also said they aren’t sending any of their rookies down to the minors before the nine game window. This will definitely be a learning experience for the rookies and hopefully it won’t do the Oilers in when it comes time to re-sign them all. On the plus side if they don’t end up doing well, Edmonton will get another high draft pick. The Oilers lost again last night but they showed some heart and determination battling back from a 4-1 deficit. They also at least picked up a point for their effort.

3. Colton Orr’s “goal” Tuesday night which basically consisted of him bowling over goalie Florida Panthers’ goalie Scott Clemmensen in the crease and having the puck redirect off of his skate. I can’t believe the refs allowed the goal, it’s not like he was pushed in. It’s a good thing the game was in Toronto because I hate to hear the chants coming from Florida. Orr’s goal was the game winning goal but luckily Phil Kessel scored a goal a few minutes later so if that goal wouldn’t have counted, the Panthers would have lost anyway.

Stat Line of the Week

10/23/10 Los Angeles 6 vs. Colorado 4

Brad Richardson scored equal or more goals in one game than he did in three previous seasons. Though the seasons weren’t full, ranging from 22, 31 and 44 games played, it’s still an impressive feat for a guy who doesn’t score that much especially in about 12 minutes of playing time.

Did You Know?

Wayne Gretzky has the most career NHL three goals or more games with 50. Mario Lemieux is 2^nd with 40. Wayne Gretzky also has the single season mark of 10, which he set twice in 1981-82 and in 1983-84.

Numbers, Numbers

1195 – NHL games for Teemu Selanne to get 610 goals

1063 – NHL games for Bobby Hull to get 610 goals

303 – Goals scored by Bobby Hull in the WHA, which he unfortunately doesn’t really get much credit for

36.5 – The Hurricanes face-off winning percentage, dead last in the league

14 – Years since the Coyotes last won a game in Montreal

Quote of the Week

“Actually, I have better games against better goalies. The way I look at it, I’m better than they are.” — RW Alex Kovalev, when asked if he was glad All-Star Ilya Bryzgalov didn’t start in goal for the Coyotes on Tuesday.

This Week in Hockey History

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

October 21, 2000 Nicklas Lidstrom had two assists for his 500th career point in the Red Wings 5-4 win in overtime against the visiting Buffalo Sabres. It came in the 5,000th game in Detroit’s franchise history.

October 22, 1999 Grant Fuhr became the 6th NHL goaltender to win 400 career NHL games and Derek Morris scored 20 seconds into overtime as Calgary won 3-2 at Florida.

October 23, 1971 Montreal’s Guy Lafleur scored his first career NHL goal. It came against Kings’ goalie Gary Edwards in the Canadiens’ 3-1 win at Los Angeles.

October 24, 1953 Maple Leafs’ Ted Kennedy scored a goal just :08 into a game between Toronto and Boston, to tie the NHL record for fastest goal from the start of a game (set by NY Americans’ Ron Martin in 1932). Leafs lost 3-2 to Bruins.

October 25, 1984 Guy Lafleur scored his 518th and final goal as a member of the Montreal Canadiens in a 3-2 win over Buffalo. His next NHL goal would come four years later with the New York Rangers.

October 26, 1984 Detroit Red Wings scored three empty net goals at the end of a 7-3 win over Buffalo, at Joe Louis Arena. Danny Gare scored two goals and two assists to lead the Red Wings’ scoring.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Nashville

2. Los Angeles

3. Detroit

4. Montreal

5. Tampa Bay

Bottom 5

30. New Jersey

29. Edmonton

28. Ottawa

27. Phoenix

26. Anaheim

1.) Vancouver Canucks

Rear-view Mirror: The Canucks are coming off of a highly successful season. A division crown, a 100+ point season and Henrik Sedin (29G-83A-112P) led the NHL in points and assists and won the Hart trophy for most valuable player. In the postseason the Canucks dispatched the Kings in the 1^st round and then played their arch rivals the Blackhawks in the 2^nd round. The Blackhawks once again got into the Canucks’ and Luongo’s head and the Canucks self destructed and were eliminated.

Roberto Luongo (.910 SV%, 2.57 GAA, 4 SO) was able to help lead Team Canada to an Olympic medal but he actually had one of his worst seasons in awhile. His SV% was his lowest since his rookie year with the Islanders. His shutouts were less than half of the previous season.

The Canucks were the 2^nd highest scoring team with 268 goals or a 3.23 GFA, 2^nd only to the Capitals. They were also 2^nd to the Capitals in shooting percentage at 10.6%. Four (D. Sedin, Ehrhoff, H. Sedin, Burrows) of the top nine +/- leaders were on the Canucks, the other five were all Capitals. The Canucks were also 2^nd in the league in shorthanded goals with 9.

Offseason Ins: Keith Ballard, Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra

Offseason Outs: Michael Grabner, Willie Mitchell, Pavol Demitra, Andrew Raycroft, Kyle Wellwood

What Makes Them Tick: The Sedins are obviously the heart and soul of the Canucks. Including all of the above mentioned accolades, King Henrik finally logged his 1^st 100+ point season. He should be able to continue that pace this season. His brother Daniel (29-56-85) missed 20 games last season, otherwise he probably would also have logged his 1^st 100+ point season. Alexandre Burrows, (35-32-67) who led the team in goals, is generally paired with the Sedins and is one of the more physical 1^st liners in the league. He logged 121 PIM last season, down from the previous few seasons. Ryan Kesler (25-50-75) anchors a decent second line. He has seen his point totals go up every season for the past four. Defensively the Canucks have arguably one of the best top six in the league. Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis are added to compliment Sami Salo, Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff and Alexander Edler. On the checking line Rick Rypien is one of the top fighters in the league. If you haven’t seem him fight, you really ought too.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: The Canucks seem to have a big problem with keeping defensemen healthy. Salo, Mitchell (now departed) and Bieksa all missed portions of the last season. While the have about eight or so defenseman signed now, keeping their main ones healthy and in the lineup is a priority, albeit one they don’t have much control over. The Canucks also need to play more physical as they were one of the lowest shot blocking and checking teams in the league.

Player to Watch: Roberto Luongo finally gave up the C on his sweater. He also finally got the monkey off of his back (somewhat) by winning something big with the Gold medal in Vancouver. Now comes the hard part of elevating his game come playoff time. The last two times the Canucks have been eliminated in the playoffs, Luongo has not had his best game. Consistency has never been his strong point. Sometimes he makes such an amazing save, you wonder how did he did it. The next time he might let in a goal that leaves you scratching your head. With the length of Luongo’s contract he won’t be leaving anytime soon. He needs to find a way to keep his composure come playoff time. The door on the Canucks title hopes will be coming to a close in a few seasons.

Prediction: The Canucks should be able to wrap up their 3^rd division crown. This is very much a win now team. The Sedin twins are also now in the prime of their careers. The Canucks boast experience and depth offensively and defensively. The two lingering questions come playoff time are: Can the Canucks maintain their composure and discipline? and Can Luongo raise his game to the next level come playoff time? The Blackhawks actually did the Canucks a huge favor by shipping Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta. He tormented the Canucks the most in the previous postseasons and with him out of the way I think at least a Conference Finals appearance is very likely for the Canucks. The Canucks Stanley Cup aspirations lie squarely on Luongo.

2.) Colorado Avalanche

Rear-view Mirror: The Avalanche finished dead last two seasons ago and nobody picked them to do much of anything last season. However between the pieces that were injured the previous season, a stellar draft and a few key accusations, the Avalanche were able to put it all together and make the playoffs as the 8^th seed. The Avalanche battled the Sharks in the 1^st round but it was clear they were over-matched.

In his first full season Craig Anderson (.917 SV%, 2.63 GAA, 7 SO) proved to be a workhorse and the goalie that the Avalanche have been looking for since Patrick Roy retired. Paul Stastny (20G-59A-79P) rebounded nicely after two injury plagued seasons and led the Avs in assists and points. 3^rd overall pick Matt Duchene (24-31-55) immediately contributed and was 2^nd on the Avs in goals. Kyle Quincey (6-23-29) was the Avs top defensemen in his 2^nd full season and had a +9, 3^rd on the team and 2^nd for defensemen. The Avs were also 4^th in takeaways with 684.

Offseason Ins: Daniel Winnik

Offseason Outs: Brett Clark, Ruslan Salei

What Makes Them Tick: The Avs, like the Penguins, have three quality centers. Stastny and Duchene are joined by fellow 1^st round pick of last year Ryan O’Reilly (8-18-26). Duchene and O’Reilly’s further development will be the keys to another successful season. Veteran Milan Hejduk (23-21-44) and newly acquired Peter Mueller (13-24-37) round out the top line. Mueller (more on him below) was acquired in the trade for Wojtek Wolski last season. The 11 year vet, Hejduk showed that despite his age and injuries he could still produce. Hejduk and Adam Foote are the only Avalanche left from the 2001 Stanley Cup team. Chris Stewart (28-36-64) led the Avs in goals last season. He should be able to continue his development further alongside of Duchene and become a 30+ goal scorer this season. Defensively the Avalanche have a nice mix of young and old. Foote, Scott Hannan and John-Michael Liles (6-25-31) pair with the younger Quincey, Kyle Cumiskey (7-13-20) and Ryan Wilson. Hannan and Quincy were both in the top 25 for blocked shots. Quincey and Cumiskey were in the top eight for takeaways.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: The 2^nd youngest team in the league, the Avalanche will now have a little pressure on them to try and duplicate the same success. Craig Anderson played 71 games last season, 5^th most in the league. It didn’t seem to phase him in the playoffs, where he went on to face the most amount of shots in the 1^st round. Still he needs to receive more of a breather and hopefully the Avs can knock his games played down to 60. The most pressing issue for the Avalanche is they need to get more shots on goal. They had 2287 shots last season 2^nd worst in the league. They made the most of their shots though as they were 3^rd in shooting percentage at 10.4%. Their shooting woes continued in the postseason. If they hope to advance further this season they will need to put the puck on net more. One way of doing that and creating more offensive chances would be to improve on the face-off. The Avs were 2^nd worst in the league with a FO% of 47.7.

Player to Watch: Peter Mueller was taking 8^th overall in the 2006 draft and had a fairly productive rookie year. His production slipped the following year and then slipped again with about 2/3 of the season complete last season. He requested a trade, which the Coyotes granted. He ended up being more productive in a third as many games with the Avalanche. In the final week of the regular season he suffered a concussion, which made him miss the rest of the year and the playoffs. Mueller says he is fully recovered from his concussion and it will be interesting to see how his game develops in a full season on the top line with the Avs. 30 goals is a distinct possibility for him, as I don’t believe he will suffer a second career slump.

Prediction: The Avalanche at this point are well ahead of where many thought they would be. It’s very possible the Avalanche could suffer a “sophomore” slump so to speak and not make the playoffs. However I think they have the talent necessary and will continue to develop and gel as a young group. A lower to middle playoff seeding is the most likely scenario. If Mueller, Duchene, O’Reilly and Stewart can continue to develop and can get more shots on goal ,with Anderson providing another stellar year in net, the sky is the limit for this young team.

3.) Calgary Flames

Rear-view Mirror: After five straight seasons of making the playoffs, the Flames were in a good spot to sneak into the playoffs again but stumbled down the stretch and finished tied for 9^th. Captain Jerome Iginla (32G-37A-69P) one again paced the Flames but he actually had his lowest point total in four seasons. About two thirds of the way through the season the Flames parted with longtime defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Miikka Kiprusoff (.920 SV%, 2.31 GAA, 4 SO) had his best season in net in four years. But he struggled mightily against top western teams like Vancouver (4.69 GAA, .856 SV%) and Chicago (4.94 GAA, .851 SV%). The Flames as a team were 2^nd to last in goals scored with 201. The power pay also struggled converting on only 16% of their chances, 4^th worst in the league.

Offseason Ins: Olli Jokinen, Henrik Karlsson, Alex Tanguay, Tim Jackman

Offseason Outs: Nigel Dawes, Eric Nystrom

What Makes Them Tick: Olli Jokinen (15-35-50) found decent chemistry with Iginla when he was brought in the end of the 2008-09 season. That chemistry wore off the next season so Jokinen was shipped to the Rangers, only to find his way back again. The Flames have to hope the second time is the charm. Another new (old) line mate rejoining the team is winger Alex Tanguay (10-27-37). Tanguay’s number have dropped significantly since he left Calgary a couple of seasons ago. Rene Bourque has increased his goal production and penalty minutes the last 4 seasons and he hopes to do the same this season. Kiprusoff should have another stellar season in net but he will need to play better against top conference rivals particularly the Canucks. Mark Giordano (11-19-30) led the team in +/- with a +17. Look for Giordano to move up the depth chart and garner more ice time.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: Jay Bouwmeester has been somewhat of a disappointment since be acquired from the Panthers. His goal production is about a fifth of what it was in Florida the last few seasons. Defensively he is still contributing and he is logging about 25 minutes of ice time a game. Considering the Flames offensively struggles they will need to find a way to convert on their power play chances and Jokinen will need to find his power play touch. The Flames are also now without their two most dangerous fighters in Brandon Prust and Brian McGrattan.

Player to Watch: Olli Jokinen was a dynamic goal scorer for the Panthers scoring 38 then 39 and then 34 goals before being traded to Phoenix. His goal production slipped the following season, before it totally bottomed out last season. Playing for three different teams in two seasons is never an easy task though. Now reunited with Iginla, Jokinen will be expected to produce like he used to. If he doesn’t General Manager Darryl Sutter will feel even more heat, than he already is, and will probably lose his job.

Prediction: It’s hard to know what to make of this team and I have a feeling GM Darryl Sutter feels the same way. But the talent is there for the Flames to make another playoff push. They really need to increase their goal production and their only hope at this point seems to be hoping that Tanguay and Jokinen can score like they used to. Daymond Langkow (14-23-37) is another 30+ goal scorer who has seen his production slip. He was also the 3^rd leading scorer with only 37 points. If the old guys can regain their scoring touch, the Flames could slip into the playoffs. Otherwise it will be another long season in Calgary.

4.) Edmonton Oilers

Rear-view Mirror: The Oilers had a season to forget. After just missing the 8^th playoff spot the past two seasons before, the Oilers finished dead last in the NHL. Dustin Penner (32G-31A-63P) led the Oilers in every major offensive category. He was the first Oiler to record over 30 goals since Ryan Smyth last did it the 2006-07 season. The Oilers had the 4^th lowest goal total in the NHL with 206 goals. The Oilers were also dead last in face off wins, with a FO% of 46.4.

Goaltending wasn’t any better as the Oilers were 2^nd to last with a team SV% of .898 and they finished last in GAA at 3.34. Nikolai Khabibulin (3.03 GAA, .910 SV%, 0 SO) was brought in to solve some of those woes but he end up only playing 18 games due to a herniated disk. Jeff Deslauriers (3.26 GAA, .900 SV%, 3 SO) ended up being the number one goalie. Though defensively they did have 4^th highest shots blocked with 1305. Unfortunately they had the highest giveaway total with 1055, which was a 145 more than the next worst team.

Offseason Ins: Taylor Hall, Kurtis Foster, Colin Fraser

Offseason Outs: Patrick O’Sullivan, Ethan Moreau

What Makes Them Tick: Their newest addition 1^st overall pick Taylor Hall well be a welcome addition to the team. Hall is the first player to ever be drafted that high by the Oilers in the NHL. The previous highest pick was the 4^th overall selection of Jason Bonsignore who only played 21 games for the Oilers. Getting a healthy Ales Hemsky (7-15-22) back will be a huge boon to the Oilers. The former 1^st round pick suffered a shoulder injury and only played 22 games last season. Hemsky had been averaging a point a game and has steadily increased his goal total the last few seasons. Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, the Oilers 1^st pick in the 2009 draft, will make his debut for the Oilers this season. Magnus just came off of a successful run in the 2010 World Championships as Sweden’s leading scorer. He is also shortening his name to Magnus Paajarvi. The 2008 1st round pick of the Oilers Justin Eberle is also poised to have his breakout season this year.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: When only one player on your team has over 30 goals or 30 assists, you know you have problems scoring goals. Finding consistent goal scoring is priority number one. Another problem is Khabibulin was convicted of drunk driving. He is set to appeal but if he loses that, he will need to serve jail time and will obviously miss some games. The Oilers are in rebuilding mode now and time would be better spent figuring out if Deslauriers, in the final year of his contract, is their guy instead. Of course Khabibulin has three years left on his deal, so the likelihood of that happening isn’t very high. Sheldon Souray who is a highly productive defenseman when healthy, has been asked to not attend camp. In all likelihood a trade will probably not happen and Souray will be released. It’s a shame because a quality defenseman is something the Oilers could really use and worse if he gets released the Oilers would get compensated. Considering the history though, it’s probably best for all parties to move on. The duo of Ryan Whitney (7-32-39) and Tom Gilbert (5-26-31) need to protect the puck better to cut down on their turnovers.

Player to Watch: Dustin Penner will be looked upon this season to carry the majority of the scoring load again but also to mentor the younger talent like Taylor Hall and Magnus Paajarvi. Penner started last season with a hot start only to struggle from the end of December until March before he got hot again in April. Consistency will be another challenge for Penner to work on. He does bring a lot of passion and hard work to his play and is always crashing the net for loose pucks. Another 30 goal season is very likely for Penner but with a healthy Hemsky again, Penner should be able to have his first 80+ point season.

Prediction: There isn’t anywhere to go but up for the Oilers but don’t expect a worst to playoffs finish like the Avalanche did last season. The Oilers haven’t had two goal scorers record 30+ goals since the 1996-97 season. The days of Messier and Gretzky it’s not but the Oilers hope the drafting of Taylor Hall will turn over a new page in their franchise. A healthy Hemsky, a motivated Penner, the electrifying Hall, Eberle and Paajarvi would give the Oilers offensive threats they haven’t seen for over a decade. Still one of the bottom spots in the conference seems likely. There are too many other talented teams in the conference and the Oilers still have some big defensive holes. They also need to stop turning the puck over. Not to mention there is no guarantee the new forwards will gel together like the Avalanche did last season. They should be at least moderately successful and I think the Oilers will produce two 30+ goal scorers this season.

5.) Minnesota Wild

Rear-view Mirror: After winning the division, the Wild have missed out on the playoffs the last two seasons. Mikko Koivu (22G-49A-71P) led the Wild in assists and points. Andrew Brunette (25-36-61) led the Wild in goals. Offensively the Wild had no 30+ goal scorers or players with 50+ assists. Niklas Backstrom (.903 SV%, 2.72 GAA, 2 SO) who had a remarkable 08-09 season, took a big step back last season. The Wild only had 6 players with a positive +/-. The team’s leader at +3 was Kim Johnsson who was traded to the Blackhawks (along with prospect Nick Leddy) for Cam Barker.

Offseason Ins: John Madden, Eric Nystrom, Matt Cullen

Offseason Outs: Derek Boogaard, Owen Nolan, Andrew Ebbett, John Scott

What Makes Them Tick: The Wild were one of the better face-off teams winning 52.2 of their draws. Greg Zanon (2-13-15) is one of the better unheralded defensive defensemen in the league. He was 11^th in hits and 4^th in blocked shots. Fellow blue-liner Nick Schultz (1-19-20) was 13^th in blocked shots. Cal Clutterbuck (13-8-21), a fan favorite, led the NHL in hits last season with 318. The previous season he broke the NHL record with 356. His offensive game showed a little bit of improvement but the Wild would like to see him hit the levels of scoring he produced while playing for the Oshawa Generals. Martin Havlat (18-36-54), a former 30 goals scorer, is entering his second season with the Wild and will hopefully have better chemistry with Koivu on the top line. Brent Burns (3-17-20) has battled injures the past two season and accordingly missed a large amount of games. Getting him healthy again will hopefully produce another 15 goal season.

What Could Make Them Go Boom: While it’s nice the Wild acquired Barker, in the long run I have a feeling the better option would have been to keep the defenseman prospect Nick Leddy. While neither player brought anything to the table offensively, Boogard and Scott were quite a checking and fighting force to be reckoned with. Both were 6′ 8” and will be hard to replace physically. Backstrom will definitely need to play better for the Wild, if they hope to make a run at the playoffs. Offensively they didn’t add any new firepower. The additions of Madden and Nystrom are solid veteran additions to the bottom lines.

Player to Watch: Martin Havlat came to Minnesota from Chicago, after his best season as a pro, with much fanfare and a pretty decent contract. His first season in Minnesota was pretty disappointing though. Havlat is the only current Wild player to have scored 30 goals or more in a season. Coupled with his five million a year contract, the pressure is on for him to deliver. Last year was only the 2^nd time in his career he had a negative +/-.

Prediction: It appears the Wild will be heading for a 3^rd straight year of no postseason. The Wild will probably still be an offensively challenged team. The 1^st line of Koivu, Brunette and Havlat is pretty decent but they have not been playing up to their potential. The other lines while adequate, don’t really scare opposing defenses. It might also be time to start looking for a new goalie especially if Backstrom can’t bounce back. Johan Gustafsson, taken in this past draft looks to be the best candidate for the job but his is only 18. Defensively the Wild have a pretty decent core with Zanon, Schultz, Barker, Burns and Marek Zidlicky (6-37-43).

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.

As for the two game sevens we did get, I didn’t care for the Coyotes vs. Red Wings. I guess the Coyotes, despite being at home, never really had a chance especially without Shane Doan. They just couldn’t get any offense going despite Bryzgalov’s best efforts. In the end an amazing journey for the Phoenix Coyotes and their season has come to an end. As for the other game…

I have to say I’m a little stunned at the outcome of the Capitals vs. Canadiens series. Now the Capitals have underachieved before and have had problems closing out opponents in other series but this was a little different. They played really well all season except for down the stretch when they had nothing to play for. It may have hurt them because they probably got a little too used to playing for nothing. The Canadiens were just lucky to be in the playoffs. Varlamov played well and probably played a lot better than most people thought he would. Unfortunately he didn’t get much offensive or defensive help at certain times. The real story was Jaroslav Halak pulling his best Patrick Roy circa 1986 impression. Halak faced 134 shots in the final three games and he only allowed three goals. This equates to a mind numbing .977 SV%. Ovechkin’s disappointing year continues. No league leading goals or points trophy, no gold medal or any medal and now no Stanley Cup. The great number eight will defiantly have better seasons ahead. Regardless of the outcome the last five minutes of the game were phenomenal. A truly remarkable first round and one of the best first rounds I can remember. Of course this could also be attributed to the fact that I saw basically all the games since I watched them all online. I didn’t have to just watch whatever limited games were broadcasted on TV. One thing that bothered me was on the Fox Sports Red Wings and Predators broadcasts, both of them mentioned Pittsburgh as the 5^th seed. No, they are the 4^th seed how hard is it to look that up? Also the announcing team on the Predators broadcasts sure don’t look like hockey announcers, not that you have a certain look per say but you can defiantly tell they are from the south.

The young teams in the West with little to no playoff experience (Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes) all made great strides this year. Prolonging a series to six or seven games against more playoff savvy teams is a great accomplishment. All should be a force to reckon in next year’s playoff. I particularly like the Kings upside assuming Jonathon Quick continues to develop into the top goalie he is projected to become.

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens

Season Series: split 3-1 Penguins

Playoff History: 1-0 Canadiens. The only time they met was in 1998 in the 1^st round. Sidney Crosby was ten then.

Star to Watch: Sidney Crosby to see if he can continue his epic scoring pace against the hottest goalie around in Jaroslav Halak.

X-Factor: Michael Cammalleri came on strong against the Capitals and he leads the team with 10 points. He single handedly beat the Caps in game six. The Canadiens will need him to continue to produce if they are to pull off another shocker.

Goalie Problem: Well Halak is not a problem so that leaves Fleury in the hot seat. Fleury’s current SV% is .890 but he usually comes up big when necessary. He will need to come up a big a little more often if Halak is able to stymie Pittsburgh’s big guns.

Fun Fact: Since the 1994 playoff format switch, only nine 8^th seeds have beaten the 1^st seed out of 32 possible tries, the Canadiens being the ninth.

Prediction: Well I said the Capitals would sweep the Candiens, oops though I should have written five or six games I never would have thought Candiens in seven. I’m going to have to go with Penguins in six just because there isn’t much difference with this Penguins team and the two that made the Finals.

6 Boston Bruins vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers

Season Series: 2-2 split

Playoff History: 2-2 split. Not since 1978 have these two met in the post season. Starting in 1974 they met in four of the five following post seasons.

Star to Watch: Mike Richards because with Jeff Carter out this is Richards’ team. Richards has played well so far, as he is 8^th in scoring and leads the Flyers in scoring this post season. He will have to kick it up a notch to best Rask and advance the Flyers to the next round.

X-Factor: Can Satan continue to dominate? Miroslav Satan delivered game winners in Game 4 and Game 6 and his patented Satan Shuffle. In fact those were the only two goals he scored. The magic of Satan, the Bruins hope he has a little left in him.

Goalie Problem: The Bruins never had a problem in net and considering they usurped the best goalie this season in Ryan Miller I say they’re doing good. Boucher has become the top goalie with Halak this postseason, so none for the Flyers either.

Fun Fact: In the two post seasons the Bruins beat the Flyers in the 2^nd round and then they lost in the conference finals to the Canadiens. That could happen again this year and wouldn’t it be something if it did?

Prediction: Well this is a really tough one to call. I could never have envisioned this pairing and I’m sure the Bruins never envisioned a scenario that they would get home ice in. While the Bruins have found a little scoring depth and Rask is playing well, I think the Flyers are the more complete team. They are built for the playoffs. Unless of course Boucher returns to normal, then advantage Bruins if not Flyers in six.

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 4 Detroit Red Wings

Season Series: 3-1 Red Wings

Playoff History: 2-1 Red Wings. The last two times the teams met in the 2^nd round and the Wings won both. The most recent meeting was in 2007.

Star to Watch: Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. I wrote about Marleau in last round’s preview about how he always disappears in the playoffs, well he hasn’t been found yet. Thornton has also joined him and he has no goals in six games, yikes. Both of them will need to bring their A game to have a chance at beating the Red Wings.

X-Factor: The Sharks made it out of the 1^st round, hooray. However their real problem is getting out of the 2^nd round as before their ouster in the 1^st round last year, they couldn’t get past the 2^nd round in the three post seasons following their Conference Finals lost in 2004. Now is when the true test for the Sharks begins.

Goalie Problem: Evgeni Nabokov played alright in the 1^st round but he also wasn’t tested. He faced the least amount of shots of the twelve goalies who played six games. Howard is a rookie so he is just gaining experience. The game seven Coyotes win was huge for him. Still his game is not complete and the Sharks should be able to pepper him with enough shots and exploit his game. Let’s face it Jimmy Howard is not Craig Anderson circa this year or Jonas Hiller circa last year and the Sharks will be much relieved of this.

Fun Fact: The Red Wings don’t lose in the 2^nd round very often. In the past 18 post seasons they have only done so four times. The Sharks on the other hand have lost in the 2^nd round 7 of 12 times.

Prediction: Well I’m hoping for San Jose but also I think they are the better team. Detroit struggled to make the playoffs until the last month and they struggled at times to beat the Coyotes. I think the Sharks have finally put it all together, let’s face it they have had plenty of time to, Sharks in seven.

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 3 Vancouver Canucks

Season Series: Split 2-2

Playoff History: 2-1 Blackhawks. The last two times they met in the conference semifinals and the Blackhawks won both of them. The most recent meeting was of course last year when Luongo gave up seven goals in the decisive game six.

Star to Watch: The Twinkie twins I mean the Sedin twins, thanks Panger. Neither has averaged over a point a game in any post season. They both currently are and they will need to continue to in order to beat the upper crust Western Conference teams.

X-Factor: Dustin Byfuglien hasn’t done much of anything yet. He has no points so far and even more surprising he has only two penalty minutes. Last year he was tied for 3^rd in PIM in the playoffs. Granted he has been playing out of position as a defenseman but he is moving back to forward in this series. He will need to get involved in the game more if he is to provide that pesky spark that he did so well in providing last year.

Goalie Problem: Roberto Luongo and Antti Niemi are very similar in that sometimes they have great games and other times you’re left scratching your head. Luongo has more of an upside but Niemi had way better numbers in the 1^st round, though numbers aren’t everything. If Luongo plays like he did in game six against the Kings advantage Canucks.

Fun Fact: These two teams were the 2^nd (Vancouver) and 3^rd (Chicago) highest scoring teams in the regular season. Chicago had the most shots on goal and the 10^th highest shooting percentage. Vancouver had the 10^th most shots on goal and the 2^nd highest shooting percentage.

Prediction: Both teams looked beatable in the 1^st round but I don’t think Chicago has peaked yet, while I think Vancouver has. I also don’t think Luongo can play consistently well the whole series. Chicago in seven.

Goat of the Week

Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators

Poor Pekka he played his heart out and almost helped the Predators upset the Blackhawks. Alas it was not to be and his gaffe in the sixth game sealed that fate. Many Blackhawks say he played the puck correctly, as a former goalie I say no he did not. He reacted way too early to a puck that was far away. Even if the puck did what he thought it was going to do, he would have had plenty of time to play it.

Mathieu Schneider – Phoenix Coyotes

It wasn’t the greatest pass from Lee Stempniak but Schneider’s poor handling of the pass coupled with Brad Stuart leaving the penalty box at around the same time, led to the goal that essentially broke the Coyotes back.

Numbers, Numbers

1 – of 33 on the power play for the Washington Capitals the top scoring team for a PP% of 3

0 – of 19 on the power play for the Buffalo Sabres

10 – of 26 on the power play for the Los Angeles Kings for a PP% of 38.5 tops in the post season

.940 – Brian Boucher’s SV% in six playoff games started

.939 – Jaroslav Halak’s SV% in six playoff games started

2.33 – Sidney Crosby’s PPG in the playoffs

1.83 – Mikael Samuelsson PPG in the playoffs the next closet player

This Week in Hockey History

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

April 22, 1993 Yuri Khmylev scored twice, including a power play goal at 1:05 of overtime, and added an assist to lead the Sabres to a 4-3 playoff win over the Bruins at the Aud. Buffalo took a 3-0 lead in the Adams Division Semi-Final series.

April 23, 1991 Pittsburgh’s Kevin Stevens became just the third player in NHL history to get three straight game winning goals in one playoff series, in a 3-1 win at Washington, in Game 4 of the Patrick Division Finals. Mark Recchi added a goal and two assists.

April 24, 1994 Gary Suter scored a hat trick and Jeremy Roenick scored the winning goal at 1:23 of overtime and added three assists to lead the Blackhawks to a 4-3 win over Toronto in Chicago, in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals.

April 25, 1994 Claude Lemieux scored twice and added two assists to lead the Devils to a 5-3 win over the Sabres in New Jersey, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals. New Jersey took a 3-2 lead in the series.

April 26, 1997 Rod Brind’Amour scored two shorthanded goals within a span of :54 (to tie an NHL record for most SHG in one game) and added an assist in the Flyers 6-3 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conf. Quarter-Finals.

April 27, 1992 Rookie goalie Tom Draper recorded his only career playoff shutout, and Petr Svoboda picked up two assists as the Sabres won 2-0, at Boston in Game 5 of their Adams Division Semi-Finals series.

April 28, 1984 Minnesota and Edmonton combined to set a Stanley Cup playoff record for most power play goals in one game, with seven. North Stars had four and Oilers had three as Edmonton won 8-5, in Game 3 of the Campbell Conference Finals.

Rankings

Based on the likelihood of winning the Stanley Cup

1. Chicago

2. Vancouver

3. Pittsburgh

4. San Jose

5. Detroit

6. Philadelphia

7. Boston

8. Montreal

So far I haven’t cared for the NHL’s scheduling. You have five games some days and three other days. It should just be four and four. Second and most annoying are the times the NHL has two games start at 7pm ET, why? Keep them stacked at 7pm then 7:30pm so that when the first is over you can still watch half of the 3^rd period. As opposed to when the first 7pm game is over you turned to the other 7pm game and watch the final minute, wow one minute so awesome. (note sarcasm)

So I think I’ll try a new recap column format for the playoffs that incorporates some of the old format. I didn’t have time to do as many numbers as I would like to have.

1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens

What we learned: The Capitals defensive problems are actually much worse than anticipated.

Things I Like: Niklas Backstrom is really having a break-out playoffs. Thomas Plekanac or Thomas Jagr, as per his new nickname, is really having a great series. This comes as no surprise as he has been the best player all year for them. I liked how Ovechkin rebounded from his Game 1 disaster. Everyone has bad games, even stars, it’s how you rebound from them that matters. I love the Montreal arena atmosphere, just awesome. There is nothing like hockey in Canada.

Things I Don’t: Alexander Semin, who I mentioned needed to have a big few series, is not having a break-out playoffs. He literally has done nothing having zero points. However you can’t say he isn’t trying as he has 16 shots which is leading the capitals. Defense on some of the goals that the Capitals have given up has just been atrocious. We knew that their Defense wasn’t their strongest point but if they expect to beat more complete teams in subsequent rounds it needs to be at least adequate.

Likely Winner: Capitals

0 – Saves made by Jose Theodore on two shots

0 – Points and shots by Alex Ovechkin in the 1^st game

0 – Points thus far by Alexander Semin

2 New Jersey Devils vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers

What we learned: The Devils are becoming the new Sharks.

Things I like: I don’t think anyone would have though Brian Boucher would play as well as he has so far, even Brian Boucher. If he keeps it up the Flyers might not need Emery or anyone else to come back.

Things I don’t: There was a call in Game 2, I believe, that led to a Flyers goal that should not have been a penalty. The Devils defenseman knocked the Flyer down but he did so after making contact with the puck first. Sometimes I wish there was instant replay for penalties too. The Devils are now down 3-1 and barring some sort of miracle are now toast. If they lose one more game this will be the 3^rd year in a row they will not have gotten out of the 1^st round as a high seed. This is not what Kovalchuk was acquired for. Martin Brodeur’s play is declining a little bit and he isn’t getting any younger. I smell problems in New Jersey and it’s not the garden state. The only good thing about the Devils going down in the 1^st round is that it should pave the way for the Capitals vs. Penguins Conference Final we all wanted.

Likely Winner: Flyers

.886% – Brodeur’s save percentage

3 Buffalo Sabres vs. 6 Boston Bruins

What we learned: That neither one of these teams are that great.

Things I like: Miller has so far played fairly well but he is being outplayed by Tuukka Rask who is making sure Tim Thomas won’t get to play. This was the battle of goalie play series and thus far it has lived up to its billing.

Things I don’t: We knew the Bruins had problems scoring goals but the Sabres seem to have more problems. It’s weird because towards the end of the Season Buffalo was scoring pretty well but so far nobody on the team has more than two points.

Likely Winner: Bruins

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Ottawa Senators

What we learned: Love him or hate him Sidney Crosby is the man. Also someone on the Ottawa bench can’t count.

Things I like: Sidney Crosby owned game 2 in a must win game for the Penguins. All the key plays in the game involved him. He had the first goal, an amazing sliding save on a puck going near the goal line and he set up the GWG with some awesome work behind the net before he passed the puck on one knee. He has been electric since that game.

Things I don’t: Ottawa has had three too many men on the ice penalties. One is bad, two is really bad and three is just ridiculous. In the playoffs it’s just embarrassing. I didn’t care for Andy Sutton’s hit on Jordan Leopold. They said it wasn’t dirty but Leopold had his head down and couldn’t see and Sutton made contact with his head. Considering how long he lay on the ice, I think Sutton should have gotten something. Brian Elliott seems to have no chance. Poor guy, he played fairly well in the regular season. In his defense Pascal LeClaire didn’t fare much better.

Likely Winner: Penguins

11 – Points by Sidney Crosby in four games, the league leader

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 8 Colorado Avalanche

What we learned: The Sharks are cursed, no seriously they are, and also Craig Anderson is quite a goalie.

Thing I like: I really think Craig Anderson is the round 1 breakout star. So far he has been phenomenal and he has already helped to steal some games for the Avs. Whether he can steal the series outright like Hiller did for the Ducks last year remains to be seen. I love the fact that 3 of the 4 games have gone to overtime, I do wish some of them would be a little longer though.

Things I don’t: I didn’t care for the Adam Foote penalty in overtime in game 2. Sure it was a penalty but it really had no effect on the outcome of the play, so it shouldn’t have been called. In the playoffs in overtime I want to see them play without whistles. Only major penalties that really affect the game should be called. The Avalanche are not a consistent bunch. They had almost no shots on goal in games two and three but they shot fine in games one and four. I really think if the Sharks lose this series they need to just rebuild the whole team. If they win regardless of how far they go, they need to find a new goalie because Nabokov is just not cutting it in the playoffs.

103 – Combined shots by San Jose in games 2 and 3

39 – Combined shots by Colorado in games 2 and 3

174 – total shots faced by Craig Anderson, yikes

Likely Winner: San Jose, barely

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7 Nashville Predators

What we learned: The Blackhawks sure hit a lot of crossbars and posts. As for the Predators well.. they’re like the Blue Jackets why do they exist? Sorry Predator and Blue Jacket fans it’s just the name and the city it’s just all wrong.

Things I like: The Blackhawks goaltending receives a lot of flack but so far Anti Niemi has played pretty well. He has given up a couple of bad goals but otherwise it’s been all good and he even has a shutout. Unfortunately he isn’t getting much help. Pekka Rinne has so far been sensational, which also doesn’t help Niemi.

Things I don’t: The Blackhawks really haven’t played all that well and I’m not really sure what the problem is. The definitely need to work on their accuracy with all the pings they have gotten at the end of the season and thus far in the 1^st round. Considering the progress they made last post season and the addition of Hossa losing in the 1^st round would be a huge step backwards for them. It would also help if the captain Jonathan Toews would show up.

Likely Winner: I still think Chicago can pull it out

.953% – Save percentage of Pekka Rinne, the league leader

3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings

What we learned: If you thought the Gold medal was what Luongo needed to get over the hump, well it wasn’t.

Things I like: Drew Doughty is the man. Despite that fact that he is only 21 and he leads the Kings in postseason scoring as a defenseman what really makes him awesome are his defensive skills. He’s had many phenomenal plays including breaking up a Sedin twins two on one. Overall this has been an exciting series and the Los Angeles crowds are into the games.

Things I don’t: Luongo and Nabokov seem to have the same problem of not showing up in the playoffs. If Luongo can’t pull it together it doesn’t look good for the Canucks. The Sedin Game 3 kicked goal should have been a goal. It was not a direct kicking motion. It’s possible his plan was to stop there to force the puck in but I highly doubt it. Good news was it didn’t matter because they lost by two goals.

Likely Winner: Kings

4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings

What we learned: Shane Doan can get really pumped when he scores a goal, I just loved his enthusiasm.

Things I like: Despite how high the Coyotes finished I still had my doubts with how they would fare in the postseason especially opening against the Red Wings. But they played exceptionally well and some of the up and down play by both teams in certain stretches was unreal. I dug the crowd in Phoenix in the first two games they were very loud and it’s nice they finally came out to support their team. It should be rocking for Game 5.

Things I don’t: There isn’t much to fault except the goalies might want to practice defending breakaways a little more.

Likely Winner: too close to call

Goat of the Week

Dan Boyle – San Jose Sharks

Well I’m sure you’ve all seen this a billion times by now, but hey let’s see it again.

I have to admit I laughed when this happened. All I could think was typical Sharks luck, I mean what are the odds that this would happen to anyone else but them in the playoffs? I can’t tell if O’Reilly actually tipped the puck or not.

T.J Galiardi – Colorado Avalanche

Another gaffe that happened in Game 3 was T.J Galiardi’s breakaway, which was by far the worst breakaway I have ever seen. All he did was stickhandle the entire time until he ran out of ice and ran into Nabokov. Shoot the puck T.J you can’t score if you don’t shoot. Unless he thought Nabokov would fall asleep because of sheer boredom. If he would have connected, he would have spared Dan Boyle.

This Week in Hockey History

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

April 15, 1975 Vancouver Canucks recorded their first-ever playoff win, 2-1 at Montreal to even their series at one game apiece in Game 2 of the Quarter-Finals. Garry Monahan tallied the first playoff game-winner for Vancouver, while Bob Dailey had two assists.

April 16, 1987 Ken Wregget recorded his second career playoff shutout to lead the Maple Leafs to a 4-0 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues, in Game 6 of the Norris Division Semi-Finals. With the win, Toronto advanced to the Division Finals vs Detroit.

April 17, 1969 Gerry Cheevers became the first goaltender in playoff history to get 3 straight shutouts at home, and Phil Esposito scored twice and added 3 assists, in the Bruins’ 5-0 win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens, in Game Three of the Semi-Finals.

April 18, 1993 Pittsburgh Penguins won 6-3 over the Devils at the Civic Arena to tie an NHL record with their 12th consecutive playoff victory. The record was set in 1984-85 by the Edmonton Oilers. Mario Lemieux scored two goals and two assists.

April 19, 1982 Denis Savard scored a hat trick to lead the Black Hawks to a 7-4 playoff win over St. Louis, in Game 4 of the Norris Division Finals at Chicago Stadium.

April 20, 1994 Chris Osgood became the fifth rookie goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his first career playoff game, when he led the Red Wings to a 4-0 win over the Sharks, in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals, in Detroit.

1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens

Season Series: split 2-2

Playoff History: They have never played each other, well there’s a first time for everything.

Star to Watch: Alexander Semin because he needs to step his game up to the next level in the playoffs for the Capitals to have a chance at the Stanley Cup.

X-Factor: With Saku Koivu and Alexei Kovalev gone Tomas Plekanec is the man in Montreal. He produced a goose egg in three games in last years playoff. He will need to play well for Montreal to have any chance.

Goalie Problem: Both teams have problems and they both might go with a two headed monster in net. But I think in Montreal’s case they stick with Jaroslav Halak. He’s certainly played better down the stretch and earned it. As for the Capitals they said the plan on rotating between Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov. I say go for it because if there is any round which you can afford to experiment it would be this one. Have them play every other game and go with the hotter one.

Fun Fact: Washington has scored 101 more goals this year than Montreal.

Prediction: The Washington Capitals should sweep the Canadiens unless Varlamov/Theodore truly suck it up.

2 New Jersey Devils vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers

Season Series: 5-1 Flyers

Playoff History: 2-1 in favor of the Devils, last meeting was in 2004 which the Flyers won in the 1^st round.

Star to Watch: Ilya Kovalchuk because the spotlight is on him. He was acquired for the playoffs and now it’s his time to shine. He has only played in four games in the postseason before but he’s surrounded by a group that’s been there before. I expect the Devils to continue to jumble their top two lines to find a good fit for everyone including Ilya.

X-Factor: Can Chris Pronger stay out of the penalty box? He sure had a problem doing so in Anaheim at key moments. However, last year was the first year he averaged under one PIM a game in his postseason career.

Goalie Problem: The Flyers employed a three headed monster in goal this season and lost two of its heads to injury and were left with just Boucher. This is his second stop in Philly and he was last in the playoffs with them in 2002 where he only played in two games. He played well in the must win against the Rangers.

Fun Fact: Philadelphia had the 2^nd highest PIM this season while New Jersey had the 3^rd lowest. I smell fights though.

Prediction: Well despite the advantage of the Flyers in the regular season, the Flyers have played poorly down the stretch and are lucky to have made the playoffs. The Devils are still mad about being bounced in the 1^st round the past two seasons. I think they and Brodeur have something to prove, Devils in six or seven.

3 Buffalo Sabres vs. 6 Boston Bruins

Season Series: Boston 4-2

Playoff History: 5-2 Boston, though Buffalo has won the last two meetings the last one being in 1999 in the 2^nd round.

Star to Watch: Well slim pickings in the star category but I’d have to say Michael Ryder. Marc Savard is injured, Phil Kessel is gone and it’s up to Ryder to lead them in playoff scoring like he did last year.

X-Factor: How will Calder candidate Tyler Myers hold up? Myers was phenomenal playing for the Kelowna Rockets in the playoffs last year and he will need to deliver again.

Goalie Problem: Neither of these teams have one, unless you consider choosing between Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas a problem. Personally I call that a luxury.

Fun Fact: If Tuukka Rask plays most/all of the round, this match-up will feature the top two goalies in GAA and SV% this season.

Prediction: Buffalo in five games because the Bruins just don’t score enough and goals will not be plentiful on Ryan Miller.

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Ottawa Senators

Season Series: split 2-2

Playoff History: Bad blood between these two. They didn’t meet last year as Ottawa didn’t make the playoffs but they met the previous two years in the 1^st round and here they are again. The first time the Senators beat the baby faced Penguins who vowed revenged next year. They got their revenge with a sweep and supposedly tanked on purpose to draw the Senators in the first round.

Star to Watch: Evgeni Malkin because he hasn’t been healthy lately but when he has been in the lineup he’s still been effective. The key to the series (but mostly other series) might be how often he can play.

X-Factor: Can Kris Letang (3) and Brooks Orpik (2) both score more goals in the postseason than they did in the regular season? Probably.

Goalie Problem: Mac-Andre Fleury hasn’t played all that well the last month except for three games. But playoff off time is generally when Fleury shines so he should rebound nicely. If not we might see some of Brent Johnson. Brian Elliot gets some much needed experience for Ottawa.

Fun Fact: The winner in each of the two previous playoff meetings went on to lose in the Stanley Cup Finals first to the Ducks and then to the Red Wings, will that happen again?

Prediction: Pittsburgh should win this probably in five games but possibly a sweep. The Senators are probably one of the weakest five seeded teams in some time.

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 8 Colorado Avalanche

Season Series: split 2-2

Playoff History: They have met three times in the playoffs before, the Avalanche hold the series lead 2-1. They haven’t met since the 2004 playoffs when San Jose bounced them in the 2^nd round.

Star to Watch: Patrick Marleau, people rag on Joe Thornton a lot, but where the hell does Marleau disappear to in the playoffs? He has 11 points in 19 games and a -2 the past two seasons. With the addition of Danny Heatley he does have a little less pressure but now he has no more excuses.

X-Factor: With all that Colorado youth I’m sure they’ll have no pressure and continue to play as normal. That might be a probably if San Jose ratchets up the intensity but Adam Foote, Milan Hejduk and Stephane Yelle have sure been here before.

Goalie Problem: Craig Anderson has been overworked this year and it’s by far the most amount of games he as ever played in the NHL in one season. Subsequently he started to wear out at the end. He was stupidly not rested in a meaningless game against the Kings. Way to go management. Evgeni Nabokov will need to put last year’s playoff debacle against the Ducks behind him and play better.

Fun Fact: San Jose has only been past the 2^nd round once. Colorado has been past the 2^nd round six times. San Jose has been around four more years as a franchise.

Prediction: Honestly this is probably the hardest series to predict. I can actually see the Avalanche beating the Sharks. Whatever happens, it’s going seven games but I’ll just say Colorado for the hell of it. Prove me wrong San Jose.

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7 Nashville Predators

Season Series: Chicago 4-2

Playoff History: None, then again the Predators haven’t been around that much.

Star to Watch: Jonathan Toews because he really needs to have a breakout campaign in the playoffs for Chicago to reach where they want to go. Anchoring Hossa, Kane and/or Sharp should help him reach his potential.

X-Factor: The Predators have never been out of the 1^st round and they sure would like too. I’m sure the fans in Nashville really don’t care.

Goalie Problem: Antti Niemi has played really well down the stretch with a .927 SV%, except for the game against St. Louis. If he keeps it up we won’t see Huet. Nashville is a good first round opponent for Niemi as they aren’t exactly an offensive powerhouse. He only faced Nashville once this year and wasn’t stellar with an 800 SV% and a 4.00 GAA.

Fun Fact: Chicago has been to the playoffs 54 times and Nashville four times, not including this year.

Prediction: Chicago in five. I expect big things from Chicago this year; then again they made it all the way to the conference finals last year. Chicago just has way more talent than Nashville. I’m amazed Nashville finished as high as they did.

3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings

Season Series: Vancouver 3-1

Playoff History: 2-1 Los Angeles and not since the 2^nd round in 1993 when the Kings made it to the Stanley Cup finals.

Star to Watch: Way too many to mention here. I’ll have to say Anze Kopitar vs. Henrik Sedin in the head to head center match-up, fun times indeed. Henrik obviously has the experience advantage and his new Art Ross hardware.

X-Factor: We have the inexperienced defense of the Kings, minus Scuderi and O’Donnell of course, vs. the banged up Canucks defense. I think we will be seeing some high scoring games.

Goalie Problem: What has happened to Roberto Luongo? If Luongo can regain his form the Canucks may go for, if not they could get bounced in the 1^st round.

Fun Fact: The only win this year that Los Angeles had over Vancouver, the Kings scored eight goals on Luongo.

Prediction: Well this will probably be the most fun of all the first round series and another hard one to predict. It should go seven but I guess I’ll take the Canucks.

4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings

Season Series: split 2-2

Playoff History: Only met one other time in 1998, Detroit won in the 1^st round.

Star to Watch: Shane Doan returns to the playoffs with the Coyotes for the first time since 2002. He’s the only one left from that team as well. Doan will need to step it up for the Coyotes to have any chance at all.

X-Factor: How much do the Red Wings care? I mean they’ve been there done that a few times before. Phoenix on the other hand has not accomplished anywhere near as much. Between their ownership problems, their surprising season and not making the playoffs in eight years it should make for an interesting dynamic. At least fans finally came out to support the Coyotes. I’m looking forward to the WhiteOut.

Goalie Problem: Jimmy Howard doesn’t have a lot of playoff experience and neither does Ilya Bryzgalov. While Howard has none, Bryzgalov did play a few games for the Mighty Ducks including three consecutive shutouts.

Fun Fact: Detroit has been to the playoffs 55 times (not including their days as Cougers or Flacons) and Phoenix five times, not including this year.

Prediction: Try as I might, I can’t see any scenario that the Coyotes beat the Wings. Then again I couldn’t have seen any scenario in which the Coyotes would obtain over 100 points. Lightning can strike twice but in this case I think the Wings experience wins out, so Detroit in six.

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

Fights of the Week

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

Matt Cooke vs. Evander Kane

Well we had a few KOs this season but this one might take the cake. I’m guessing Matt Cooke will want a rematch next year.

Trevor Gillies vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

A decent back and forth fight with a weird start.

Micheal Haley vs. Rod Pelley

A decent back and forth fight with some good punches.

Goat of the Week

Marc Staal – New York Rangers

Marc Staal’s bad pass attempt to another Ranger, I can’t identify, who wasn’t even looking for the pass sets up Mike Richards breakaway goal.

Things I like

1. Ten years of over 100 points for the Red Wings. That is consistency and it’s really tough to do in this day in age of the game.

2.  The Boston Bruins scored three shorthanded goals all during the same penalty. To think that Boston had problems scoring all year, they just needed to be shorthanded. Although they were the 29^th shorthanded scoring team so maybe it was just an anomaly.

3. Seven teams in the Western Conference had 100 points or more. Wow. Yet many people wonder why I and many others think the West is the superior conference. Of course you get a point now for an overtime loss but you used to get a point for a tie which a lot of these games could have ended if there wasn’t a shootout.

4. Standing Ovations for Mike Modano (maybe retiring), Keith Tkachuk (retiring) and Teemu Selanne (maybe retiring) during their final home games. Of course two of those three players made up a phenomenal line on the Winnipeg Jets. Tkachuk and Selanne teamed with Alexi Zhamnov in the early to mid 90’s. I didn’t see them play because who televised Winnipeg Jets games (and I was like 12 haha) but I did have their hockey cards. Scott Niedermayer also might have played his last game but he’s a defenseman so no one cares. I’m just kidding but my gut tells me Selanne and Niedermayer will both be back.

Things I don’t

1. NBC did one of those patented NBC moves. Only one game had a game that meant something to both teams, the New York Rangers vs. the Philadelphia Flyers. You can argue that Detroit and Chicago meant something but only whether they would move up a spot or not, which is not a big a deal as winner gets into the playoffs. So NBC shows the Capitals vs. the Bruins, ugh. And people wonder why the NHL can’t get a bigger following in the states, bonehead moves like that is why. Now I know that the Caps game was at 12ET and the Rangers vs. Flyers game was at 3ET but I’m pretty sure they could have moved the game up if they wanted to show it.

2. When NBC was going over the standings and possible playoff matches they had the Flyers vs. the Capitals and then they said of course the Rangers could win and get in instead. Of course they failed to mention that if the Flyers won they wouldn’t play the Capitals because they would leapfrog the Montreal Canadiens and the Canadiens would then play the Capitals. I guess that would have required too much research on their part. Between NBC’s sheer stupidity and no one carrying versus I can’t think of a time the NHL had worse broadcasting partners. Unless of course you count that FOX glow puck debacle.

3. Four teams in the West that didn’t make the playoffs finished at or above the 88 points the 7^th and 8^th seed Flyers and Candiens had in the East. Hmm… doesn’t seem fair. Of course Detroit shouldn’t even be in the West seeing how they’re even more East than Atlanta is.

4. Ranges in the shootout, I mean Gaborik wasn’t even one of the first three shooters and Lundqvist picked a bad time to suck in the shootout after playing an awesome game.

Stat Line of the Week

04/11/10 Pittsburgh 6 vs. NY Islanders 5

Crosby made a run for the records he could get and while he came up short on the points record, he did end up tying Ovechkin for 2^nd. He also ended up tying Stamkos for the goal lead at 51.

Did You Know?

The playoff beard tradition was started by the New York Islanders in the early 1980’s. It seemed to work as they won four cups in a row in the 80’s.

This Week in Hockey History

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

April 08, 1937 Referee Clarence Campbell officiated his first Stanley Cup match in Game Two of Finals, a 4-2 win for Detroit over the Rangers. Campbell, who became third league president in NHL history in 1946, gave out three penalties.

April 09, 1980 Bob Sauve recorded first shutout in Sabres playoff history, 6-0 over Vancouver in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Preliminary Round. Gil Perreault scored a goal and added two assists.

April 10, 1982 L.A. Kings staged their famous “Miracle on Manchester”, scoring 5 goals in the third period to tie the Oilers, then winning 6-5 on an overtime goal by Daryl Evans. The win gave the Kings a 2-1 lead in the best of 5 series vs Edmonton.

April 11, 1994 Tom Barrasso stopped 32 shots for his 21st career shutout as Pittsburgh clinched the Northeast Division title with a 4-0 win at Ottawa. Jaromir Jagr led the scoring with three assists.

April 12, 1960 Montreal’s Maurice “Rocket” Richard scored his 82nd (and final) NHL playoff goal in Game 3 of the Finals against Toronto. Canadiens beat the Leafs 5-2, and won again two nights later for the 1960 Stanley Cup Chamionship.

April 13, 1997 Mario Lemieux picked up two assists in his final career regular season game (until his comeback in 2000-01) as the Penguins lost 7-3 at Boston. The two assists gave Lemieux 122 points, and his 6th NHL scoring championship, in his 12th season.

Rankings

Based on the likelihood of winning the Stanley Cup

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Chicago
3. Pittsburgh
4. New Jersey
5. Detroit

Bottom 5

16. Montreal
15. Nashville
14. Ottawa
13. Philadelphia
12. Phoenix

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.      

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.

Well I generally document Anaheim’s problems on a weekly basis. I will sum it up with injuries, not being able to win key face-offs, dumb penalties, inconsistent goalie play, poor penalty killing and not clearing the zone when they have the opportunity. Selanne, Giguere, Koivu, Wisniewski, and Lupul have all been injured. Various other minor players have also been bitten by the injury bug. Lately they have been blowing 3^rd period leads which happened in a stretch of three games in a row. They are 2^nd in the league in giving up the most goals in the 3^rd period. They need to have that killer instinct and shut teams out in the 3^rd period when they have a lead. One bright spot for the Ducks is their power play. After struggling in the beginning of the year, they now have the 3^rd best power play in the league. The Ducks need to start doing the little things better and get everyone back healthy and playing consistently.

Philadelphia had high expectations after being bounced in the playoffs two years in a row by the Penguins. Chris Pronger in the eyes of the Flyers was that missing piece to get in the way of Crosby and Malkin and they gave up a lot to get him. Pronger has played well though. His +/- is near the top of the league and his scoring pace is higher than his previous two seasons. So we can’t blame Pronger. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter are on the same pace for points this year as they were last year. They did lose Joffrey Lupul and his 25 goals a year but Danny Briere is healthy this year and picking up that slack. So what’s the problem? Well I haven’t watched all that many Flyers games, so I can’t say with certainty. Having Simon Gagne, and his 30+ goals, injured for much of the year hasn’t helped the Flyers. Ray Emery’s numbers are worse than the man he replaced, Martin Biron. In the most recent game against the Canadiens Brian Boucher, subbing for Emery, gave up 3 goals on 13 shots, yikes. So goaltending which has generally been the Flyers Achilles’ heel is still a problem. The penalty killing could be improved as well.

Carolina has the honor of having the worst record in the league. They also went 14 games without a win in one stretch, ouch. Starting goalie Cam Ward has been out for a month so far. Neither of his backups are performing well. In fact the Hurricanes have the worst SV% and the 2^nd worst GAA. Eric Staal has really struggled this year and is just recently starting to play better. Veteran Rob Brind’Amour is also struggling. Carolina’s powerplay is 2^nd to last, which is never a good sign. The Hurricanes are also tied for 2^nd with the Ducks in giving up the most goals in the 3^rd period. Hmm… let’s see, bad powerplay, check, struggling 1^st line, check, starting goalie injured, check, giving up tons of 3^rd period goals, check. It’s hard to win games when those things are happening. On the bright side the Canes have won 2 in a row, although they have done that two other times this year only to go on losing streaks again. They should be getting back Cam Ward this week, which should help the Hurricanes immensely. Of course Ward will need to work off his rust.

All these teams have the talent to make a run for the playoffs. The season is only a third of the way done, so there is still plenty of time to turn it around. However if things don’t start to improve expect changes to be made. Whether it’s dealing some players, or following the Flyers lead and making a coaching change, shakeups will occur. Expectations for these teams are too high this year to sit around and be content with being in last place.

Goalie Spotlight

Miikka Kiprusoff – Calgary Flames

Kiprusoff is a Finland native and was selected in the 5^th round by the San Jose Sharks in the 1995 entry draft. Before joining the Sharks in 2000, Kiprusoff was already an established international star. Kiprusoff led TPS in the Finnish league SM-liiga to gold in 1995 and 1999. He won the Urpo Ylönen trophy, for best goalie, in 1999 a year after fellow NHLer Tim Thomas (Goalie Spotlight Week 7) won it. His numbers in the postseason that year were a 9-1 record, 3 shutouts, and a 1.55 GAA. He also led Finland to silver placing finishes in the 1999 and 2001 World Championships and in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

Kiprusoff moved to North America in 1999 and played for the Kentucky Thoroughblades in the AHL, and made the All-star team his first year. He played briefly for the Sharks during the 00 to 03 seasons. In the 2001 playoff series against the Blues, Kiprusoff became the 1^st Finnish goaltender to win a playoff game. Having lost the starting goalie spot to Evgeni Nabokov, the Sharks traded him to the Flames in 2003 for a 2^nd round pick.

Rejuvenated by the trade to the Flames, Kiprusoff was named defensive player of the month for December of 03. Despite battling injuries he led the Flames to the postseason for the first time in eight years. He also led the league in GAA with a 1.69 mark, setting the tone for a stellar career with the Flames. This was the lowest GAA in the modern era and 24^th best all time. He went on to lead the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, including beating his former team along the way, against the Tampa Bay Lightning where they lost a close series in 7 games. The year after the lockout, Kiprusoff won the Vezina (best goalie) and Jennings (lowest team GAA) trophy. He set the record for most wins for a Flames goalie with 42 and then broke it himself 3 years later with 45 wins. Other Flame franchise records he holds include: Most shutouts in one season (10), most shutouts all time (30) and most games played in a season (76).

Despite losing in the 1^st round the past 4 years, the Flames look poised to go deep in the playoffs this year. With Kiprusoff, captain Jarome Iginla, and new additions from last year Olli Jokinen (fellow Finlander) and this year Jay Bouwmeester the Flames have a great core. Off to a great start this year the Flames hope it can land the Stanley Cup in Canada for the first time since the Canadiens brought it home in the 1992-93 season.

Fights of the Week

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

Didn’t like that many fights this week and I’m strapped for time.

Matt Bradley vs. Daniel Carcillo

Technically not a fight as Bradley didn’t get any penalty minutes. Carcillo punches Bradley right as he drops his gloves. Carcillo racked up 29 minutes in penalties with the check and fight.

Brian McGrattan vs Raitis Ivanans

The 5^th bout between these two, dating back to their AHL playing days, had some slow moments, but still pretty decent.

Goat of the Week

Brian Elliott – Ottawa Senators

Brian Elliott for giving up this fluke goal off the glass to Ryan Getzlaf, you might want to position yourself better Brian. No harm done as the Senators won in the shootout.

Things I like

1. Happy Birthday to the Montreal Canadiens who had their 100^th anniversary on Dec. 4^th. I’m sure their fans would like their most recent teams to rival their past success but you can’t have everything.

2. People say that the Sharks have the best line, but they would be wrong. The Devils actually have the best line. Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, and Jamie Langenbrunner (when he’s on the line) have a combined +/- of +43, tops in the league for a forward line.

3. Alex Ovechkin says he won’t change his style of play. Good for him I say, he only knows how to play one way and he isn’t going to change that. He plays with passion and I really don’t find his style that reckless.

4. The Carolina Hurricanes got their first road win of the season against the defending Stanley Cup champs of all teams, extracting some revenge from last years playoff sweep.

Things I don’t

1. Teemu Selanne is injured for about 4-6 weeks in what could very well be his last season. This is a huge blow to an already injured and struggling Ducks team. It will also affect how high Selanne can climb on numerous scoring records. Here’s hoping he doesn’t call it quits after this year.

2. Keith Ballard, a.k.a goalie annihilator, has taken his next victim in Craig Anderson. Ballard knocked Anderson out of the game when he slid towards the net and sent Anderson’s head to the goal post, at least he didn’t send him to the hospital though he is still day to day. Maybe Ballard was tormented by goalies as a kid. If you’re keeping track at home that’s two starting goalies down and 28 to go for Ballard.

3. Hard to imagine but the Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play is 28^th overall, yikes. With all the talented scorers on that team you figured they could find the net more.

Stat Line of the Week

12/03/09  Capitals 6 vs. Panthers 2

Mr. Duco racked up 27 minutes of penalty minutes on four penalties on one play against Alexandre Giroux and was ejected from the game. He was getting Giroux back for the elbow he laid on Dmitry Kulikov. Personally I didn’t find Giroux’s hit all that bad. Lesson to be learned don’t mess with the Duco. You can see both hits below.

12/05/09  Capitals 8 vs. Flyers 2

The Capitals Swede racked up 5 points, 3 assists on the powerplay, against the Flyers. Ovechkin who?

Box Score of the Week

This won’t be a regular feature, I just thought it was too interesting to pass up. In the Flyers vs. Islanders game, if you look below, 4 players each scored 2 goals back to back without anyone else scoring in between. If they had scored 3 goals each that would have been 4 natural hat tricks in a row. I have no way to look it up but I’m pretty sure the below has never happened before.

1st Period

Philadelphia  9:47, Mike Richards 12 (power play) (Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell)

Philadelphia  15:14, Mike Richards 13 (shorthanded) (unassisted)

2nd Period

Philadelphia  4:21, Jeff Carter 10 (power play) (Danny Briere, Matt Carle)

Philadelphia  7:04, Jeff Carter 11 (Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen)

NY Islanders 10:52, John Tavares 12 (power play) (Jeff Tambellini, Kyle Okposo)

NY Islanders 14:55, John Tavares 13 (power play) (Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo)

Philadelphia  17:29, Claude Giroux 4 (power play) (Mike Richards, Chris Pronger)

3rd Period

Philadelphia  2:35, Claude Giroux 5 (Scott Hartnell)

Did You Know?

Speaking of penalty minutes Randy Holt holds the record for most penalty minutes in one game with 67 set in 1979. He also has the record for most penalty minutes in a period since he got all 67 of those in the 1^st period in a game against the Flyers. 45 minutes came on a bench clearing brawl at the end of the period instigated by Holt. He doesn’t hold the record for most penalty minutes for a season though. That record goes to Dave Schultz with 472 penalty minutes set in the 1974-75 season.

Numbers, Numbers

0 – Number of overtime losses for Vancouver.

14 – Number of goals scored by the Capitals in the 2 games Ovechkin was suspended.

103 – Career shutouts for Martin Brodeur tying Terry Sawchuck’s NHL record.

15 – Career shutouts by Ryan Miller who was in the other goal when Brodeur tied the record.

13 – Anze Kopitar’s goalless game streak

This Week in Hockey History

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

December 03, 1999 Ottawa’s Kevin Dineen picked up a misconduct penalty to become the fifth player in league history to get 300 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes in his NHL career. The milestone came during a 7-4 Senators loss at New Jersey.

December 04, 2001 Peter Bondra scored his 400th and 401st NHL goals to become the 5th active player to score 400 goals with one team in the Capitals 5-2 win against the visiting New York Rangers.

December 05, 1988 Detroit’s Steve Yzerman set a new team record with a goal in his ninth straight game, a 7-2 Red Wings’ loss at Montreal. Yzerman broke the team record of goals in eight straight games set by Gordie Howe in 1952.

December 06, 1995 Colorado Avalanche obtained goaltender Patrick Roy and Mike Keane from the Montreal Canadiens, in exchange for Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky and goalie Jocelyn Thibault.

December 07, 1977 New England Whalers’ Gordie Howe scored his 1,000th professional goal (counting the NHL and WHA) in a WHA Whalers’ game against Birmingham.

December 08, 1999 Pavel Bure scored his 12th career hat trick in the third period to lead the Panthers to a 6-1 win at Phoenix. Panthers set a team record with five goals in the final period, as Mikhail Shtalenkov won in his first start with Florida.

December 08, 1967 Two months into their first NHL season, the “California” Seals officially changed their name to the “Oakland” Seals.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Chicago
3. Phoenix
4. Boston
5. Minnesota

Bottom 5

30. Philadelphia
29. Columbus
28. Tampa Bay
27. Florida
26. NY Rangers

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks suck, there I’m done. Anyway the Ducks were leading 1-0 against the Stars when they let the Stars score 3 unanswered goals in the 3^rd including an empty netter. It was a tough loss for the Ducks who played a good game. To make matters worse Selanne broke his hand in a game he almost sat out because of the flu. Corey Perry’s point streak also came to an end; I think I may have jinxed him. Then there next game against Minnesota taking a 2-1 lead into the 3^rd the Ducks were able to make it 4-2. Then they gave up two goals in the final 5 minutes to force overtime, which they of course lost in the shootout. Against Ottawa the Ducks decided to lose differently. They never led in the game and every time the Senators would score, they would tie it within a minute. They then lost in the shootout again.

Next up was the Dallas Stars, again, and the Ducks started off the game in typical Ducks fashion slow. The Stars were up 3-0 before you knew it and it seemed like another loss. But then Joffrey Lupul, who has been on fire since coming back from his injury, scored when Turco made the save on the breakaway but couldn’t put on the breaks as he slid behind the goaline. In the 3^rd period instead of sucking as usual, the Ducks dominated the Stars outshooting them 14 to 2 and recently called up rookie Dan Sexton scored 2 goals to force overtime. In the overtime the Ducks continued to dominate and Saku Koivu scored on a 3 on 1 breakaway. All in all a very entertaining game and the Ducks scored 4 unanswered goals, which hopefully gives them something to build upon.

NHL Point Standings System – It sucks. In all seriousness I think it’s a joke you get a point for losing. Why reward failure? You lost? Here have a point. I like the old way where if you lose in overtime you get nothing, if you win you get two points and if you tie you each get a point. Somewhere along the line the NHL decided it didn’t want ties. That kind of makes sense because no one comes to any sporting event to watch a tie game. However football has ties, though it mostly never happens. Of course football doesn’t have 5 minute overtimes they go the full 15 minutes of a quarter. Not sure why the NHL shortened its overtime to 5 minutes. I mean you would get a lot less ties if you let the game go another period worth of time. It would be more exciting too. The shootouts are an exciting way to break the tie. It’s just a bit unorthodox to end a team game in a 1 on 1 situation. I mean what if after one overtime, the NBA went to a 1 on 1 between their best players? I’m just glad the playoffs don’t have shootouts as the multiple overtimes provide some of the most thrilling games. I’ll never forget the 4 overtime classic between the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars in 2008. If they want to keep it as it is, then award no points for overtime or shutout losses. You could also award no points for an overtime loss but a shootout loss could be worth one point since that is a different format.

But the way I see it the NHL has 9 possible options for games that are tied after regulation:

A)    Keep it the way it is (5 min. OT with shootout same point system)

B)    Keep it the way it is but no points for any loss

C)    Keep it the way it is but only one point for shootout loss

D)    Go back to the old way (tie after overtime, no points for loss, no shootout)

E)    Change the OT to 20 min., ties, no shootout, no points if you lose in OT

F)     Change the OT to 20 min., ties, no shootout, one point if you lose in OT

G)    Change the OT to 20 min., shootout if still tied no points for loss

H)    Change the OT to 20 min., shootout if still tied, one point for either loss

I)     Change the OT to 20 min., shootout if still tied only point for shootout loss

Now these are all the possibilities, I may have missed one; I’m not really in favor of most of them, since we are trying to eliminate points for losing. I understand the NHL wants to award 1 point for something just to make it more interesting. My personal choice is the last one, I. It would give the game a chance to end more likely in a non shootout. But it would still have the shootout if necessary since it’s exciting. You don’t reward failure in the overtime but you do in the shootout. However at the point the losing team has played a strong hockey game and I don’t really believe the shootout is part of a game, it’s more like a supplement to a game.

Goalie Spotlight

Evgeni Nabokov – San Jose Sharks

Evgeni Nabokov was born in Russia but where he was born has since become Kazakhstan, the place made famous by the Borat movie. As such he has played internationally for both nations, something that normally doesn’t happen. He has also been the main cog in goal for the Sharks during their prosperous and at the same time under achieving decade.

Nabokov was taken in the 9^th round in 1994 by the Sharks. He was mostly drafted because of the highly successful and long career his father, Viktor Nabokov, had in Russia. In 1997 he made his way stateside to play for the Kentucky Thoroughblades and the Cleveland Lumberjacks in the AHL and IHL. After successful seasons there, he was called up in 2000 to play with the Sharks. In the first start of his career he dueled with Patrick Roy to a 0-0 tie. Not bad for your first start, something I’m sure he will never forget.

In the 00-01 season when starting goalie Steve Shields went down with an injury, most thought Miikka Kiprusoff would get the starting nod. The Sharks highly regarded Kiprusoff but decided he needed more seasoning in the AHL so they gave the nod to Nabokov, and they never looked back. Nabokov posted impressive numbers and won the Calder Trophy, for rookie of the year, and made the All-Star game in 2001. Ironically Nabokov and Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames, are now foes in the western conference and the playoffs. They have each won a playoff series against each other (Nabokov in 08, Kiprusoff in 04).

Since Nabokov has been the Sharks starter he has amassed many of the Sharks franchise goalie records and a few more all-star appearances. Though he did have a down year in the 05-06 season and was regulated to a backup role for a bit. He was also the first goaltender to score a power play goal in 2002. In 2008 he won gold with Russia in the IIHF World Championships and was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Nabokov and the Sharks would like to add a Stanley Cup to their resumes, which has proven to be quite hard the past few years. Nabokov numbers in the playoffs have been fairly consistent with his regular season numbers. If anything it has been the Sharks offense that has sputtered come playoff time. Particularly heartbreaking for the Sharks was losing 3 of 4 overtime games to the Stars in the second round of the 2008 playoffs. Including the 4OT thriller I mentioned above. Nabokov is off to another fine start this year, as are the Sharks. Hopefully it will translate into a better postseason success this time around in an extremely tough western conference.

Fights of the Week

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

Craig Rivet vs. Daniel Carcillo

This fight is nominated because these two fought about 8 minutes earlier and they wanted to fight some more even before the face-off and the refs moved them away from each other. After the puck was dropped they went straight for each other. Bonus points for the enthusiastic announcing.

Cam Janssen vs. Krys Barch

This fight is made better by the soundtrack. Seriously who picked the PA music for the fight?

Goat of the Week

Keith Ballard, see up top. He can win Goat of the Year.

Things I like

1. Teemu Selanne on the power play is gold. Teemu had 2 more goals on the power play against the Blackhawks. He now needs just 2 more to tie Joe Nieuwendyk for 10^th place on the all-time list.

2. Zach Parise continues to provide solid results, yet stay relatively under the radar. The 5^th leading scorer last year Parise continues to lead the Devils in points and goals this year. He also has a +19 for the year, tops in the league. He could work on his shooting percentage though.

3. Cristobal Huet (Goalie Spotlight in Week 3) had won 7 straight games for the Blackhawks until his streak was snapped by the Ducks. It’s a nice turnaround for the always under pressure Huet who lost his starting job last year and didn’t play all that well at the beginning of the year. He and Antti Niemi have formed a nice tandem for the rising Blackhawks.

4. Marian Hossa, or Maid Marian as he likes to be called, scored two goals (one shorthanded) in his debut against the Sharks. Not a bad way to work off the ring rust. I’m betting the Blackhawks hope he doesn’t bring his Stanley Cup curse with him.

Things I don’t

1. Is it me or is it cold in here? No wait that’s just Anze Kopitar. The former NHL leading scorer has only 3 assists in the past 9 games. “Kope” also has an appalling -6 in that span. Losing Ryan Smyth obviously didn’t help but superstars find a way to raise their game. In a related note your off my fantasy team “Kope”.

2. Craig Anderson has really begun to cool, after his hot start helped propel the Colorado Avalanche. Anderson has only won 2 out of his last 9 starts. His GAA is 3.75 and his SV% is about .879 during that span. As he goes so do the Avalanche as Peter Budaj is not considered much of an option. The Avalanche might want to give him a breather though as he has played the most games of any goalie in the league. Even Martin Brodeur has had more nights off. Of course Anderson shut me up with his shutout against the Lightning on Monday night.

3. Ales Hemsky is gone for the year, a really tough break for an already slumping Edmonton Oilers team.

4. Phoenix is still dead last in attendance by a mile. I realize the future of the team is hazy but, regardless if they go elsewhere at the end of the year, management can’t take away the enjoyment you had when you went to the game.

Did You Know?

I’ll try something new this week and see how long it lasts. Hopefully this will last longer than tweet of the week did.

Bobby Orr has the single season record for +/- at +124. He is however second on the all time +/- career list to Larry Robinson who had +730 to his +597. Nicklas Lidstrom is the only active player in the top 70. His mark sits at +414 as of this writing.

Double did you know if you read this week in hockey history. You will find out Mario Lemieux has a brother, I sure didn’t know that.

Stat Line of the Week

Another new one

11/28/09 Penguins 8 vs. Rangers 3

Nice line for Sidney Crosby who recorded his 4th career hat trick. Not sure why the Rangers left Stephen Valiquette in for all 8 goals. I know they wanted to give Henrik Lundqvist the night off, but it seems a bit much.

Numbers, Numbers

19 – Corey Perry’s current point streak, an Anaheim Ducks franchise record.

28 – The number of chances the Carolina Hurricanes have left to get their first road win.

2 – Number of game Alex Ovechkin was suspended for his knee hit

5 – Number of game Georges Laraque was suspended for his knee hit

0 – Number of games Keith Ballard was suspended for whacking his own goalie and sending him to the hospital

This Week in Hockey History

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

November 26, 1983 Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky began an NHL-record 17 consecutive game assist streak, at St. Louis. It came in the midst of his NHL record 51-game point scoring streak (during which he scored 153 points). Oilers lost 8-6 to Blues.

November 26, 1999 Jaromir Jagr scored a natural hat trick (the 5th of his career) in a 7:01 span of the first period and added an assist for his 900th career point, and Tom Barrasso recorded his 35th career shutout in the Penguins 5-0 win against visiting Ottawa.

November 27, 1943 Montreal beat the visiting NY Rangers 6-3 to extend the Rangers losing streak to 11 games since the start of the 1943-44 season, the worst start to an NHL season by any team in league history. Rangers ended the streak with a tie the next night.

November 27, 1997 Michel Petit became the first player in NHL history to play for 10 different teams, when he made his first appearance with the Phoenix Coyotes in a 4-1 loss to Dallas.

November 27, 1984 Alain Lemieux (Mario’s brother) scored his first career hat trick to lead the Blues to a 6-1 win at Vancouver. Lemieux played 119 NHL games with the Blues, Quebec Nordiques & Penguins, and scored 28 goals and 44 assists.

November 27, 1969 Detroit’s Gordie Howe became the first player in NHL history to score 1,700 career points, when he picked up two assists in a 5-1 win against Los Angeles. Howe reached 1,700 points in 1,567 NHL games.

November 28, 1982 Ron Sutter made NHL history when he played in his first game, with the Flyers. It was the first time in league history that five brothers from the same family all played in the NHL. The Flyers tied the Canucks, 5-5 at Vancouver.

November 29, 2003 Chris Chelios became the 11th NHL defenseman to score 900 career points, when he picked up an assist as the Red Wings beat the Blues, 2-1 in St. Louis.

November 30, 1977 Phil Esposito scored a hat trick and Wayne Thomas had his 7th career shutout, as the Rangers won 4-0 at St. Louis. The three goals gave Esposito 605 in his career, one more than Bobby Hull, and second most in NHL history (behind Gordie Howe).

December 01, 1997 Montreal Canadiens became the first team in history to play 5,000 NHL games, when they took on the Pittsburgh Penguins, in a 1-0 loss, in Montreal. The loss gave the Canadiens a record of 2,625 wins, 1,603 losses and 772 ties since 1917.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Chicago
2. Nashville
3. Atlanta
4. New Jersey
5. Pittsburgh

Bottom 5

30. Carolina
29. NY Rangers
28. Toronto
27. Edmonton
26. Colorado

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks played the Hurricanes on 11/25.They were able to beat them in regulation, though they sure found a way to make it suspenseful. After Teemu Selanne scored with about 90 seconds left to make it a 3-1 game you figured it was basically over. But then Carolina scores with 60 seconds left. You could hear the crowd deflate in Anaheim after that. But the Ducks hung on to win. Next was a tough game against the Chicago Blackhawks who just soundly gave the Sharks a thumping. But much to everyone’s surprise, the Ducks shut out the Blackhawks and their loaded top lines with a 3-0 win. Giguere was great in getting his first shutout of the season.

Next up was Phoenix who the Ducks seem to have problems with. Regulation was not enough to decide a winner and neither was OT so the game went into a shootout. The Ducks lost the shootout and have now lost 3 shootouts in a row to Phoenix. Including the shootout last year where if they would have won, they would have been the 6^th seed instead they dropped to the 8^th seed.

Next up was round 1 of the freeway series against the cross town rival Los Angeles Kings. I have to say that Evgeny Artyukhin takes some of the dumbest penalties around. In this game he took three offensive zone penalties. This is also not his first game taking bad penalties. I have no idea why Teemu Selanne requested him on his line. The Ducks lost the game 4-3 when the Kings scored the game winner in the final 2 minutes. A really tough game to lose for the Ducks, as they played really well for the most part. I also have to say this was one of the most exciting games so far, the scoring chances on both sides were quite exciting. Corey Perry kept his streak alive with a goal and an assist.

1.)     Watch Out For The Avalanche:   I am starting to believe that this team could actually compete for a playoff spot this season. Craig Anderson has broken out of the South Florida sunshine and proven so far that he can be a number one goalie coming into Monday, he leads the league in wins (10) and save percentage (.936).  Also the key to being a good team is special teams and both the penalty kill (second in the league) and power play  (13th in the league) units are playing extremely well.  Yes I know they are coming off two tough losses to two teams (Sharks and Canucks) that were supposed to be ahead of them at this juncture of the season but as long as their scorers (Hejduk, Stastny, Wolski) stay relatively healthy this team will be a surprise playoff team when all is said and done. 

2.)    First Firing? By this time last year there was already the first coach firing (October 16, 2008 of Denis Savard by the Blackhawks), and in total there were seven in season changes behind the bench.  Which makes me feel like the first clipboard to fall is coming soon.  I feel the hottest seat is that of John Stevens of Philadelphia, since the team is still struggling with discipline issues that plagued them last season.  Could the Hurricanes give up on the Paul Maurice reunion so soon?  Could the Predators can the only coach they have ever had in Barry Trotz? Has the glimmer of the 2007 Stanley Cup victory worn off of Randy Carlyle in Anaheim?  I am interested to see which of those seats will start to burn as we get farther into the season.

3.)    Game of The Week: Penguins vs The West Coast—The defending champions run through the west coast this week but I am very interested in not only their game on Saturday vs the Sharks but also the game Thursday vs the Kings.  The game against the Kings will showcase the talented scorer Anze Kopitar, who outside of hockey enthusiast does not realize how good this kid is.  This game matches up two teams that have scored 44 goals in their first 14 games, so should be an exciting back and forth game.  Saturday will match up two teams that are favored to play for the Stanley Cup this season, and the Sharks are playing their best hockey and getting scoring from a lot of different sources.  These games and the Tuesday game vs the Ducks are all going to be worth staying up late this week.  

Sure it’s still early, but who doesn’t love a good plot twist?  Sports fans always fall in love with the teams that come out of nowhere—from Cinderella stories in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to BCS busters.  Anyone outside of Pittsburgh wanted to see the Arizona Cardinals hold the Lombardi Trophy after last year’s Super Bowl.

Of the early teams making many do a double take at their record which are for real and which are merely hot at the wrong time?

The only team in their correct place in the eastern conference’s Northeast Division is the Toronto Maple Leafs, but with only 1 point in 7 games and still in search of their first victory even this level of futility was unimaginable.

Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators have turned the tables on the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the early going.  But how are they doing it and will it last?

BUFFALO SABRES: 5-1-1 (11 points)

So far, the Sabres are getting contributions form all the right players and their balanced attack has been a nightmare for opposing teams.  Left-winger Thomas Vanek’s 4 goals and center Derek Roy’s 6 assists aren’t surprising but the early performance of center Tim Connolly (6 points), left wing Clarke MacArthur (4 goals) and right wing Jason Pominville (5 points) is.

Most important to their early success has been goalie Ryan Miller (5-0, 1.66 goals against average, .942 save percentage).  Miller has the talent to put the team on his shoulders but at some point his numbers will come back down to earth.  When they do, can the offense keep scoring like it has?  Any sustained success and playoff run will rely on Miller putting up career-best numbers.

Staying power? Vanek is the only elite scorer on this team and he already had an injury scare.  With Connolly’s injury history and too many question marks throughout the rest of the roster it feels like this team is hanging by a thread.  All it will take is for one long injury to bury the Sabres.  VERDICT: No Playoffs

OTTAWA SENATORS: 5-2-1 (11 points)

The off-season trade of left-winger Dany Heatley was supposed to doom the Senators, but so far it looks like a case of addition by subtraction.  With Daniel Alfredsson (11 points) and Jason Spezza (7 points), there is still plenty of offense.  Left-winter Milan Michalek (5 goals) is off to a nice start and center Mike Fisher seems to have rediscovered his playmaking ability. They’re off to a hot start with zero goals combined from Spezza and former 50-goal scorer Jonathan Cheechoo.

However, behind Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa remains incredibly thin on the blue line and many of their mistakes have been covered up by goalie Pascal Leclaire.  But a goalie can’t be expected to carry the load each and every night and Leclaire’s numbers took a big hit after allowing 6 goals in an overtime loss to the offensively challenged Nashville Predators Thursday night.

Staying power? New head coach Cory Clouston has done a fantastic job so far, especially with two of his top forwards still looking to light the lamp for the first time.  If Leclaire plays up to his ability they’ll hang around all season.  VERDICT: Like doing late holiday shopping, they’ll be in it until the end but come up without the gift of the playoffs.

Fans of the Phoenix Coyotes must think they’re suffering from heat stroke.  Tops on the list for relocation, the Yotes are ignoring the off-ice issues and doing plenty of winning early on.

PHOENIX COYOTES: 6-2-0 (12 points)

This is easily the biggest surprise in the league thus far, not even stats can explain it.  Nobody has more than 3 goals and two of their top three scorers are defensemen (Adrian Aucoin with 6 points and Ed Jovanovski with 5).

Much like Miller in Buffalo, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (6-1, 1.26 gaa, .949 save percentage) would be a strong Vezina contender if the award were handed out in November.  Bryzgalov will be the netminder for this franchise—wherever home is—for many years to come, but he’ll obviously fall off somewhat from his amazing start.

Staying power? They’re still not scoring and lack the talent to help Bryzgalov when the puck stops looking like a tire off a semi truck.  VERDICT: Late October brings cold outside of Arizona and there’s no delusion here, the Yotes will still finish near the bottom of the west.

COLORADO AVALANCHE: 6-1-2 (14 points)

This isn’t your older brother’s Avalanche anymore, but the misconception is they stopped building after Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Sandis Ozolinsh left.  The reality is injuries stunted the growth of young star Paul Stastny while Marek Svatos, Wojtek Wolski and John-Michael Liles have been slow to develop.

Defenseman Kyle Quincey’s team-leading 8 points have been a huge boost and veteran right winger Milan Hejduk is still a top sniper.  The talent is in place to succeed, if each player can meet the high expectations they once had.

The goaltender was a main position of weakness the last few seasons and so far it has been solidified by free agent acquisition Craig Anderson (6-1, 2.06 gaa, .934 save percentage).  Once a high-level prospect, it took Anderson a long time before earning a starting job, but he’s finally performing at a high level and showing the ability to be a workhorse between the pipes.

Staying power? Health and growth are essential to any young team to find success.  If Stastny stays healthy and their young talent matures, they will be headed back in the right direction VERDICT: Many continue to love the Avs based on their run of success years ago—kind of like Jennifer Aniston.  And much like Aniston’s relationships, it’s hard to see this being successful in the long haul.

LOS ANGELES KINGS: 6-4-0 (12 points)

Unlike every other team on this list, the Kings aren’t shocking the hockey universe because of an incredibly hot goaltender.  They have plenty of talent at every other spot on the ice.

22-year-old center Anze Kopitar (8 goals, 8 assists in 10 games) is the hottest player in the league not named Ovechkin and if he is ready to join the league’s elite scorers this team is very dangerous.  Left-winger Ryan Smyth (14 points) has brought not only his terrific skill but also the leadership this young team so badly needed and has immediately paid dividends.

Their success has been without much from talented left-winger Alexander Frolov who continues to butt heads with head coach Terry Murray.  Reports out of L.A. say the two have already had ten closed-door meetings—one for every game—and trade rumors continue to swirl around Frolov.  A quick resolution will only help matters.

Most importantly, the Kings have an extremely young and talented defensive corps led by the 2^nd overall pick of the 2008 draft Drew Doughty.  Fresh off winning the Stanley Cup, Rob Scuderi joins talented blue-liners Matt Greene and Jack Johnson to form a couple of exceptionally strong pairings.

Staying power? If the Kings can solve their goaltending issues—Frolov could be used as trade bait for that solution—this team is a definite playoff contender.  VERDICT: I had them in my playoff picks before the season began and there’s no reason to back down now.  It’s been a good sports year in L.A.—Lakers are NBA Champions and the Dodgers won 95 games before losing the NLCS—and the Kings will make for a very fun winter in the city of Angels.

The number one thing I am looking forward to this season, just like any other season, is the biggest jumps, up or down by a team. For example when Boston was the 8^th seed and Montreal the 1^st seed in 2008 and they subsequently swapped places the next season in 2009. This year I figured Anaheim will jump up the most as they were the 8^th seed last year. I peg them anywhere from 2^st to 5^th this year. Of course technically they were tied for 6^th last year but they were still officially the 8^th seed. The Avalanche have a possibility to nab the 8^th seed which would be quite a jump up, don’t laugh it’s possible. For biggest tumble I can’t really see anyone dropping more than 3 spots, which I don’t think is enough of a drop to warrant a mention, but you know some team will.

You also have to wonder what the effects on the possible move/sale and the leaving of coach Gretzky will have on the Phoenix Coyotes, though it does look like they are staying in Phoenix for now. Granted Gretzky didn’t really seem to have an impact on the team but I can’t imagine the possibility of a move doesn’t have an affect on them. On the other hand it might motivate them to play better and it sure looked like it worked vs. the Kings.

The biggest surprises of the week were probably Colorado blanking Vancouver 3-0. I bet no one saw that coming, and the demolishing of Carolina by Boston 7-2. It’s not that Boston won the game it’s the score. I think Boston may still be bitter about last year’s playoff exit, just a little.

Goalie Spotlight

This feature will highlight a goalie every week. I will strive to do a few paragraphs on a different goalie every week, and I won’t base it on their past week’s performance. However, depending on how hot a goalie is during a given week, I may just discuss that.

Craig Anderson – Colorado Avalanche

Many “experts” predict Craig Anderson will be this year’s version of Tim Thomas, a longtime journeyman who becomes a superstar. Of course Thomas backstopped the Bruins to the best record in the Eastern Conference last year; I don’t think Anderson will be able to replicate that in the West. If Anderson sounds familiar it’s because he posted back-to-back shutouts last year, and in one shutout he set the NHL record for most saves (53). Despite his success last year, he was unable to wrestle away the top spot from Tomas Vokoun in Florida, despite having more of an upside based on being 5 years younger, and he became a free agent.

Anderson turned down offers from other teams to sign with the Avalanche, and relegate former starting goalie Peter Budaj to the bench. “It’s a dream come true,” Anderson said. “It was the place I wanted to be, a city I’ve always loved. I think it’s a great opportunity for me, and I want to be part of the solution bringing the team back.” [1] At 6 feet 2 inches Anderson is one of the taller goalies in the league and plays with a butterfly style made famous by his idol (and mine) Patrick Roy, who of course led the Avs to two Stanley Cups. The Avalanche believe they have found their goalie of the future and with Stastny, Wolski, and third overall pick Duchene are starting to form a nice nucleus to bring them back to respectability.

Fights of the Week

Everyone loves hockey fights! Some people watch only for the fights, sad because the rest of the game is even better. This feature will comb through all the past weeks fights to bring you the best.

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

Donald Brashear vs. Eric Godard

This fight was interesting because of the sheer amount of time they took sizing each other up before they engaged. Brasher started hot but I think Goddard won overall.

Craig Conroy vs. Sam Gagner

Right off the face-off with this fight, literally, I don’t even think they cared who won the face-off.  Both had some great punches, I give the win to Gagner though.

Andrew Alberts vs. Shawn Thornton

Like the Brasher vs. Goddard fight a lot of sizing up time, afterward Thornton basically makes Alberts his bitch. Bonus points to the announcer who really seemed to get into the fight. “Call off the fight, it’s a bloodletting!” Not sure where but alright!

Goat of the Week

Nikolai Khabibulin – Speaking of goalies, Khabibulin’s whiff of playing the puck in the final minute of a tied game, led to a gift goal and a win for the Flames. This was in the home opener no less, talk about silencing the home crowd. Further proof of why I always say goalies should stay between the pipes.

Tweet of the Week

According to Sportsin140 the NHL has the least amount of tweeters of the four major sports. Which should make it hard to find decent tweets for this section, but I figured it would still be fun. The NHL is, however, the first League to have all their teams tweeting.

So where’s the tweet you say? Unfortunately I couldn’t find a good one, if this keeps up, I’ll close this section. C’mon players tweet!

Things I like

1. Tavares in New York, assuming the Islanders stay there, was a great draft choice that joins the Islanders other great top picks like Ryan O’Marra, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey…. okay maybe not. But Tavares has the skills to lead the Islanders back to respectability and maybe some of it will rub onto line-mate and 2006 7^th overall pick Okposo.

2. Ovechkin picking up right where he left off and then some. Though he didn’t win the scoring title last year, I suspect he will win it this year. The real challenge is whether he can bring his shooting percentage back from respectability after his paltry .106 percentage last year. So far, 5 goals in 3 games not to shabby.

3. The St. Louis Blues for their collective effort of beating the Red Wings, not once but two nights in a row, all the way over in Sweden. Also good to see Paul Kariya back recovered from injury and in top form, I’m sure the Blues are glad too.

4. Ray Emery, although only 2 games in, has seemed like a worthwhile addition to the Flyers including a shutout of Carolina opening day. If he can stay out of trouble this may led to bigger and better things. I know the Flyers and their fans are hoping for that. Of course last night he gave up 5 goals to the Capitals, but then again it was the Capitals.

Things I don’t

1. Robert Luongo, who I always thought was a tad overrated, has apparently regressed. The last time we saw him he gave up 7 goals to the Blackhawks, I don’t think that sat well with him. Reminds me of Jake Delhomme’s meltdown with the Panthers in the NFL Playoffs and then his starts the following year, he said it didn’t bother him, but later admitted it did. Maybe Luongo has the same mental block. It’s not time to turn to Raycroft yet, but if he keeps this up the Canucks may not have a choice.

2. Martin Brodeur one of the true legends of the games may be slipping. Like Luongo he had a playoff meltdown as he let in some weak goalies against Carolina in last year’s playoff, including the two late goals in the game 7 stunner. He has now given up 8 goals in 2 games. It didn’t sit well with me that they let go of Clemmensen, you hope it doesn’t come back to haunt the Devils.

Rankings

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing, not who I think is better or how they will end the season.

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh
2. Philadelphia
3. Washington
4. Calgary
5. Colorado

Bottom 5

30. Vancouver
29. New Jersey
28. Carolina
27. Tampa Bay
26. Toronto

Ducks Watch (My team)

The Ducks were embarrassed in their home opener against San Jose, and Hiller seems to have lost some of his mojo. They looked real good up 3-0 to the Wild after 2 periods. They then promptly lost that lead, giving up 3 goals in the 3rd, not playing awful but not playing great either. Then in overtime Wisniewski takes a beyond stupid penalty by sucker punching a Wild right in front of the ref, ugh. Gave me flashbacks to all those games that ended with Pronger sitting in the penalty box. Minnesota promptly scores on the power play. On the plus side Anaheim got a point and at least looked like they might get better as the season progresses and they continue to gel.

Well I hope you liked the column any suggestions, comments, and/or feedback are always welcomed.

[1] http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_12737489