People said that hockey would never make it in Southern California. It’s too warm, they don’t even have a winter. Well tell that to the packed house at Anaheim Ice who came in on a Saturday evening on the final day of prospects camp to watch a friendly scrimmage game between players who will more then likely not make the team this season. California hockey is alive and well so much so that two 1st rounders at this years NHL draft were born and raised in the area. Current Duck 1st round draft choices Cam Fowler and Californian Emerson Etem were at prospects camp. Late rounder Devante Smith-Pelly as well as previous years picks Peter Holland, Justin Schultz, Jake Gardiner, Ryan Hegarty, Nicolas Deschamps, Matt Clark, Scott Valentine and Justin Vaive to name a few. Also on hand was fan favorite Dan “Big Sexy” Sexton. The game ended 8-5 (including an empty netter) but it was a lot closer than it seemed.
The White team (guest) was led by Dan Sexton and Emerson Etem and the Black team (home) was led by Devante Smith-Pelly and Cam Fowler. The White team simple dominated the first 10 minutes of play as the puck was always in the Black end. But wouldn’t you know it the Black team led 2-1 after 10 minutes, basically converting on their only two scoring opportunities. The rest of the game was about even. Goaltending in this game was average at best, to put it nicely. Other than a couple of nice saves it wasn’t pretty. Despite being a mostly friendly game, there were a handful of really great hits. Justin Vaive, who had a few hits, is one big guy coming in at 6’5” and around 210 pounds. He could eventually replace George Parros as the enforcer on the Ducks. He would also bring a more offensive upside to the team than Parros does. Devante Smith-Pelly was a force around the net, hitting people and scoring. The star of the scrimmage and the only player that I can say for certain will be on the opening day roster is Dan Sexton. He was everywhere on the ice and had some nice slap shots and passes. He also scored I believe one goal. I particularly loved his heart and enthusiasm that in a pretty much meaningless scrimmage game, he was banging his stick on the ice in frustration on a missed play. All in all a great game and the Ducks have selected and signed a nice assortment of young players.
Let’s take a look at the possible opening day Ducks roster. The biggest question mark for the Ducks is obviously on defense. Just two years ago the top defensive pair boasted future hall of famers Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. Now with both gone, it’s time for the Ducks to turn a new page on the defensive end. The old men of the group are 10 year vets Lubomir Visnovsky and Toni Lydman. Visnovsky will assume the leadership rule of the defensive unit and Lydman while a great talent, was probably brought in more to coax Teemu Selanne into playing another year. Next is where the real question marks begin. The next spot up for grabs would more than likely be filled by James Wisniewski, who is headed for arbitration for the second year in a row. More than likely that will go well and he will be back. The 4th spot is more than likely going to go to Sheldon Brookbank who hasn’t really impressed me all that much in his short career. But maybe increased playing time and responsibility will improve his game. The last two spots are up for grabs. It’s rumored and a likely possibility that Luca Sbisa will get one of the remaining spots. Sbisa acquired in the Pronger trade, played eight games for the Ducks before being sent down. Coach Carlyle had wanted Sbisa to receive the maximum amount of playing time possible to further his development which he was not going to get in the Ducks lineup. With Niedermayer retired and the Ducks looking to shake things up, Sbisa should be ready to help fill the void. He was conspicuously absent from prospect camp, which I thought was quite odd. Hopefully this means the Ducks think he’s ready and he will definitely be in the starting six. I don’t think top draft pick Cam Fowler will be ready to grab the last spot so the ducks will more than likely look to acquire another player. There’s always Brett Festerling but I sure hope not.
Offensively, if things go correctly, you could be look at the most stacked offensive collection ever assembled on the Ducks and rivaling some of the all time great NHL teams. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry will return the question is will Bobby Ryan join them? Ryan and the Ducks have hit a standstill in their contract talks but eventually I have hope that it will work itself out. On the second line we may possibly see one of the best second lines ever. Saku Koivu is the only definite coming back to anchor the line. On the one side you could have future hall of famer and 600 goal scorer Teemu Selanne, who I think will come back. On the other side you could have Joffrey Lupul who skated for the first time in a long time the other week. His back looks like it may be fully recovered in time for the start of the season. I know the Ducks and Lupul both hope that it is. Underrated Todd Marchant would anchor the third line with probably Dan Sexton and Jason Blake. The 4th line is anyone’s guest at this point, until the Ducks management finishes making the roster. But the top three possible lines would give any opposing netminder and defense fits.
The goalie tandem of Jonas Hiller and Curtis McElhinney are as solid as they come. I believe McElhinney is an improvement over former back-up Justin Pogge, though Pogge never really played. I really think that Hiller will bounce from a fairly average year from him. After tearing it up in the Olympics most of that momentum carried over down the stretch for the Ducks. With the number one spot now firmly his and lower expectations coming into this season than last years, I think pressure will be a lot lower for Hiller and his focus will be a lot higher. I am looking forward to the Ducks getting better team chemistry and making a deep run into the playoffs.
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 Written by:
Alex Mueller
Post Olympic Thoughts – Ryan Miller and Jonas Hiller had amazing runs as Olympic goalies for their respective countries.
I hate that Marc-Andre Fluery and Jonathon Quick won medals even though they did absolutely nothing. Same can be said for Tim Thomas but at least he stepped onto the ice, even if it was in garbage time.
Russia was hugely disappointing but then again they did lose to a talented Canadian team in the tournament. BTW I did mention how Russia wouldn’t win because they were the favorites in my last column.
I feel bad for the USA in some respects as they went in to the goal medal game undefeated. But it is hard to beat any team twice in a tournament like this especially twice on the road, hats off to their accomplishments.
As for NHL thoughts, seriously watch out for Colorado and Chicago, though the Blackhawks do have that goalie problem. Both will be really tough outs come playoff time. San Jose is all smoke and mirrors they will find a way to bounce early again. Not sure what to make of the Los Angeles Kings yet. They have a lot of talent, but they have almost no playoff experience on the roster. Also one night they look like world beaters, the next night they don’t show up. I’m iffy about Vancouver still. The beasts of the East are Pittsburgh and Washington. Washington has the same problem as Chicago though, goaltending. New Jersey has all the talent necessary but they haven’t been able to pull it all together, they may be running out of time.
One of the surprises this year has been the Ottawa Senators. Nobody expected them to do much of anything this year especially after they traded Dany Heatley. But here they are fighting Buffalo for the division crown. Consistency in net has not been Ottawa’s strong point over the years. Ray Emery had started the majority of the games in the 06-07 season, only to make way for Martin Gerber the next year, who gave way to Alex Auld next and finally this year it seems to be Brian Elliott.
Elliott was drafted in the 9th round by Ottawa in the 2003 draft as the 291st pick overall, or the next to last pick of the draft. Because of his extremely low drafting, not much was expected of him. He ended up playing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison after being drafted for four years. The first two years he was not the starter. In the 05-06 season Elliott became the starter and took full advantage of his opportunity. He was a finalist of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, awarded to the men’s top collegiate hockey player, posting a 1.55GAA and eight shutouts. He also led the Badgers to the NCAA National Championship that year. After his stellar collegiate career, Elliott was signed by the Binghamton Senators of the AHL and played the end of their 06-07 season.
He was invited to the Ottawa Senators training camp but was reassigned to Binghamton. He was recalled by the Senators for one game only, which he won against the Thrashers. He played the whole season at Binghamton and the following 08-09 season. That would be his last season at Binghamton and he went out with a bang like in college. He was named AHL goalie of the month for December and he started in the AHL All-Star game. He finished up the 08-09 season in Ottawa starting 30 games. This season he has split time with Pascal Leclaire. However, Elliott has started more games than Leclaire and has posted better numbers. He also had a nine game undefeated streak in January and February.
Looking to make a playoff run, the Senators hope that Elliott continues to improve his game. They also hope that Elliott is the answer to their goalie of the future problem. At just 24 years old, Elliott could bring much needed stability to an always changing position for the Senators.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Silver medal winning Quick goes out to play a puck behind the boards and well I have no idea what he was trying to do. He weakly stops it with his badly positioned stick then it takes a funny bounce and J.P. Dumont scores an easy goal as the puck bounced to him.
In the final minute of overtime Ryder tries to get back on defense and slides to block the pass which he does, unfortunately he keeps sliding and takes out Tim Thomas leading to a wide open net and giving the Maple Leafs an easy win.
Things I like
1. Ryan Miller’s huge ovation in Pittsburgh, even bigger than Sidney Crosby’s. It’s nice when fans acknowledge accomplishments even when it wasn’t from someone on their team or in this case since it was for Team USA it kind of was.
2. The Phoenix Coyotes will to live and surprise everyone. Despite no one coming to games and not having an owner, the Coyotes will continue their quest for the cup. For the first time in forever the Coyotes were buyers at the trade deadline. They made seven deals at the deadline including picking up Wojtek Wolski for Peter Mueller (no relation) and Kevin Porter.
3. Speaking of Peter Mueller, he has so far flourished in his new home in Colorado, picking up four points in three games thus far. Sometimes a change of scenery does a player good and I definitely thought that would be the case in this situation. Colorado has an abundance of young talent, including top tier talent at the center position. Mueller makes for a better fit in Colorado than in Phoenix where he will also get more time to develop. So far he has flourished picking up 6 points in 4 games for the Avs.
4. The Florida Panther’s David Booth making his comeback with a Gordie Howe hat trick. Booth took on the man who knocked him out Mike Richards in a fight that was, well not much of a fight. Kudos to Booth for wanting a measure of revenge, as long as he has now moved on from it.
5. Sean Avery, of all people, mocking Maxine Talbot’s retaliation fighting. Was quite funny, if you haven’t seen it yet, and it even made Talbot laugh.
Things I don’t
1. After riding the pine during his Gold medal win Marc-Andre Fleury is what you might call rusty. He was supposed to start against the Sabres but showed up late to practice, hard to imagine, so his punishment was not starting. He did start the next game against the Rangers and gave up 4 goals on 12 shots, yikes. It will take awhile for Fleury to get back into the groove.
2. The Ducks losing their first 4 games back in true Ducks fashion. You can read about it in the last section if you like.
3. Marc Savard’s concussion by Matt Cooke’s elbow. Hits to the head are never good and while you’d like to ban them, accidents will still happen. The NHL should look into better helmets like the NFL is doing.
Stat Line of the Week
03/06/10 Colorado 7 vs. St. Louis 3
Skater
TOI
G
A
+/-
SOG
PIM
C. Stewart
17:14
3
1
+2
6
0
Former 1st round pick in the 2006 draft, Chris Stewart is having a break out year. The game against St. Louis could be considered his break out game as he notched his first career hat trick. His final goal came on a penalty shot that he was awarded when Erik Johnson tripped him. He also added a helper on T.J. Galiardi’s goal. Watch out for this young and deep Avalanche team.
Did You Know?
The latest a Stanley Cup Finals has gone is till June 24th in 1995. Of course that was the owners’ lockout year that cut the season short. The latest for a non-lockout threatened season would be June 19th in 1999 and again in 2006. I for one, hope it never gets any later, as Hockey in July is quite absurd. June is already bad enough as it is.
Numbers, Numbers
1786 – Shots by the Avalanche last in the league
2211 – Shots by the Blackhawks first in the league
10.7 – Shooting percentage by the Avalanche, tied for 2nd in the league
7.5 – Shooting percentage of the Bruins, last in the league
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
March 04, 1991Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Ron Francis, Grant Jennings and Ulf Samuelsson from the Hartford Whalers in trade for John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski.
March 05, 1953 Gordie Howe scored twice and added three assists to lead the Red Wings to a 7-1 win against the Rangers, at the Olympia. With the five points Howe broke his own NHL record for most points for a single season (86).
March 06, 1993 Playing in his final NHL game, Jets’ veteran defenseman Randy Carlyle scored the only goal of his 17th NHL season to get his 500th career point. It came in a 4-2 Winnipeg loss at Toronto, where Carlyle’s career had begun in 1976.
March 07, 2002Teemu Selanne scored his 400th career NHL goal in the Sharks 5-2 win against the visiting Ottawa Senators. It was also San Jose’s 300th victory in franchise history.
March 08, 1997 Mario Lemieux picked up an assist to become the first player to get 100 points in the 1996-97 season, as the Penguins won 3-2 in overtime over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. It was the 10th 100-point season of Lemieux’s NHL career.
March 09, 1990 NHL President John A. Ziegler Jr. terminated the suspension of Detroit Red Wings player Bob Probert after Probert served one year without pay of his combined expulsion and suspension.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. Carolina, yes really 2. Vancouver 3. Philadelphia 4. Pittsburgh 5. Washington
Bottom 5
30. Edmonton 29. NY Islanders 28. Florida 27. New Jersey 26. Buffalo
Anaheim Ducks Watch
So the Ducks traded Ryan Whitney to the Oilers for Lubomir Visnovsky. This is funny because I remembered when Whitney was acquired and how it was a huge deal that they got a young defenseman of the future to eventually replace Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. They also gave up Chris Kunitz who is a fairly decent goal scorer, let’s not forget. One season worth of games later and Whitney is history. The timing is even more hilarious because Whitney just won a Silver medal. All in all not a bad move by the Ducks because Whitney didn’t really pan out like they had hoped and Visnovsky is a decent player. I’m glad they didn’t trade Wisniewski and I hope the resign the Wiz when the season is out. Backup goalie Justin Pogge was also dealt. You might remember Pogge best for being called up and sent back every time Giguere was injured and right after he was traded. He basically sat on the bench and never played, you will be missed Pogge. In other news I am so happy they got rid of Nokelainen. A 6th round pick was probably the best they could do.
So you’d think that a team boasting 7 Olympic medal winning players, 6 now without Whitney though if this was last year they would have had 8 with Pronger, could win some games and make the playoffs. Of course if you’re the Ducks that’s a huge challenge. The Ducks first opponent back from the break was Colorado. The Ducks also had an eleven game winning streak at home going, but not anymore as they fell 4-3. Jason Blake had a nice powerplay goal to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Selanne made it 2-0 with goal number 598. This goal was special because Selanne was about a mile offsides, with someone else I think it was Koivu, but the linesman said everyone was fine, umm okay. Then came the case of the stupids. Bad penalties and bad defense gave the Avalanche the opportunity to tie up the game and then take a 4-2 lead. The Ducks crept with in one on a four minute powerplay. Right before the third goal and afterwards they had numerous chances to get another goal. Ryan had a nifty move that missed somehow, Getzlaf had a wide open net that he some how missed and then he later fumbled a pass when he was wide open in front of the net. Truly they are Olympic heroes… not. I think some others also botched some chances. Either way tough loss to swallow considering that A) they were hot going into the break B) they had a 2-0 lead C) you’d figure they have some Olympic momentum with all those medals D) there home streak was snapped and E) everyone else that needed to lose did and they could have been just one point shy of the 8th and final playoff spot. Seriously Anaheim wake up! Kudos though to the recently recalled Dan Sexton who was everywhere on the ice and he should be on the Ducks for good now.
Next up was Phoenix who the Ducks seem to have a problem with, I have no idea why. The Ducks lost 4-0 in a game I couldn’t watch and therefore didn’t. Just as well, as I think I would have hurled. I have nothing else to add to that game.
Next up was Montreal and I got to watch the game online in French, Oui oui! The Ducks clearly listened to my tweet as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Hiller had a stretch of awesome saves in the 3rd. The Canadiens got within one goal, or but, and Bobby Ryan had a chance to ice the game with an empty-netter but he misses by about six inches. He should have made it because A) he was past the blue line B) no one was on him and C) wouldn’t you know it the Canadiens manage to tie it up a few seconds later, ugh. Corey Perry, in true Perry fashion, punches a celebrating Markov right in the face, funny but also dumb. Luckily it didn’t end up a powerplay for the Canadiens. I think the last 30 seconds of the game sums up the Ducks season quite well. But wait Duck fans, it only gets better from here! With a 1-0 lead in the shutout in the third round all Hiller needs to do is stop Montreal and they win. He stops the shot but of course he doesn’t know where the puck is and he starts sliding back and moves his arm and the pucks falls off from his arm, or wherever it was, into the net, prompting a big you have got to be kidding me. The Ducks promptly lose in the next round. I really don’t know what to make of these last three games; I’m at a loss for words. I’m also starting to lose hope that they will make the playoffs, if there ever was hope to begin with.
Next up was Columbus and I just can’t bring myself to recap it. The Ducks lost 5-2, they suck and that’s all there is to it. No I will recap it a little the Ducks found themselves down 3-0, Hiller was pulled and things looked bleak. I still watched and the Ducks cut it to a 3-2 lead and I was into it again. A couple of dumb penalties by the Ducks, what else, late in the game sealed the victory for Columbus. Even though they lost 5-2 it wasn’t as thought Columbus played that much better. The Ducks out shot the Blue Jackets 38 to 20 and had way better scoring chances. Mathieu Garon was just on for the Blue Jackets with some amazing saves.
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 Written by:
Alex Mueller
Greetings from Seattle, colder and wetter than Southern California, and home to no hockey teams, thank you Gary Bettman.
Wheelings and Dealings – Brian Burke has been a busy man and so has Darryl Sutter. Jean-Sebastian Giguere to Toronto had been rumored all season and finally happened. So it isn’t really surprising. It’s sad to seem him leave Anaheim but in the “what have you done for me lately” world of sports, the answer for Giguere would be nothing. Best of luck in Toronto Jiggy, where you will be re-united with your former goalie coach. Toronto also picked up Dion Phaneuf to help solidify their defense. Most of the time it’s good for a veteran, whose played a while in the same place and is struggling, to go to another team to rejuvenize his career. Toronto sure hopes that is the case this time. Burke had some questionable calls toward the end of his tenure in Anaheim that I didn’t care for. This includes the handling of Bobby Ryan, Andy McDonald, Teemu Selanne, Scott Neidermayer and Dustin Penner. But I like that he is shaking up the Maple Leafs and he is acquiring key pieces without really giving anything up. As good as the Giguere and Phaneuf pickups are, what may really be the best acquisition is how good the 6 foot 6 Keith Aulie ends up being. If he ends up being a star this deal was defiantly more than worth it and then some.
On the other hand…. It’s very interesting to me that I wrote about the Flames last week and how a shake-up was needed, you know get creative. I don’t think this was quite what I had in mind. Darryl Sutter obviously had other thoughts. I’m not sure trading two struggling stars; I used that term loosely, for a bunch of third rate NHL’ers is the way to go. If they would have traded Jay Bouwmeester instead of Phaneuf, and in effect it’s almost the same thing, that would have sent the message, “Hi I’m Darryl Sutter the two moves I made last season to strengthen our team didn’t work, so I am starting over. I also have no idea what this team needs to win the Cup.” Giving up after a year and starting over shows you don’t really know what chemistry your team needs and you have no faith in your players. This certainly doesn’t make a winning combination. I had high hopes for the Flames this year but I don’t think they will be making the playoffs this year. The cup runner up team of 2004 seems so long ago. Neither of the players they received from the Rangers for Olli Jokinen have much of an upside. Plus as I mentioned above if Aulie becomes a star Sutter is really going to be roasted, more so than he is now. Though he probably won’t be in Calgary by the time we know the verdict on Aulie. I’m having a hard time figuring out what the Flames gained in any of these trades. Unless they are just unloading everyone since Niklas Hagman and Ales Kotalik are the only one still under contract after this season. I do wonder if Brandon Prust will make his way back to Calgary as he did when he was traded for Jokinen. It makes you wonder how Prust feels to be traded with the same player he was traded to get just a year ago.
Goalie Spotlight
None this week, will be back next week
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
This week had the least amount of fights to pick from this season.
He didn’t really do anything goatish but he got his jersey stuck over his head and couldn’t see, which is just funny. I’m glad he didn’t get hurt though.
Ryan Miller questionably attempts to clear the puck from behind the net passing it behind his back which bounces off of Tyler Myers into Crosby’s stick and he scores a goal which Miller had a chance to stop but failed again. Not the best sequence for Miller.
Things I like
1. Sidney Crosby almost had a natural hat trick against the Sabres on Monday night. He has really carried the penguins this year, since Malkin has struggled at times this season. Call him Cindy, call him a cheap shot artist, or a whiner but whatever you call him you can’t deny he’s a damn fine hockey player.
2. Hiller shutting out the Panthers after signing his new contract. Ironically he would have gotten the new contract earlier, and Giguere shipped out earlier, if he had played better at the beginning of the season.
3. Speaking of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, he recorded his own shutout in his Toronto debut against the Devils making 30 saves. I expect Giguere will play well for the Maple Leafs and lead them back to respectability.
4. Edmonton won! They beat the mighty Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 in a game I’m sure fans were turned away at the door. All kidding aside this was a much needed victory for the Oilers. Losing 13 games in a row you probably start to question if you can ever win again.
5. Quiet teams like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Ottawa winning and winning a lot lately. I can’t believe Ottawa is 9-1 in their last 10 games. But I guess with the Capitals winning 11 in a row stuff like that happens.
Things I don’t
1. All these slumping teams Edmonton, Calgary, Detroit, Boston, Toronto, New Jersey, NY Rangers. They all have 3 wins or less in their last 10 games. It’s probably been a long time since that has happened.
2. Dan Sexton being reassigned to the Manitoba Moose, that’s a cool team name though. I’ll write some more about this in the Ducks watch below.
3. Mike Green, Capitals, taking out Michael Frolik, Panthers, with an elbow to the head, just a sick defenseless shot. Green received a three game suspension for the hit. Then the next period Mike Green and Dmitry Kulikov hit knee to knee, perhaps karma’s payback. Never good to hit knee to knee and both men leapt off the ice. You can see both hits below.
Stat Line of the Week
01/30/10 Calgary 6 vs. Edmonton 1
Skater
TOI
G
A
+/-
SOG
PIM
J. Iginla
15:11
2
2
+4
2
5
Captain Iginla brought his A game as he tried to turn around the sinking ship knows as the Flames. He did an awesome job as he netted 2 goals, 2 assists and gave up no goals while he was on the ice. Unfortunately, this came against the Oilers who are more hapless than the Flames right now. Also the Flames were unable to maintain their momentum losing to the Flyers 3-0 the next game.
Did You Know?
That in the 1993 Stanley Cup Playoffs the eventual champion Canadiens swept the Sabres 4-0 in the 2nd round but won every game by a score of 4-3. The last three games all went to overtime.
Numbers, Numbers
11 – The current winning streak by the Capitals, the longest in franchise history.
8 – Consecutive losses by the Bruins.
.9325% – Ryan Miller’s save percentage just a hair behind Hasek’s all-time single season record of .9366%.
0 – The number of wins by the Oilers in the month of January.
6,896 – Fans in attendance for the Hurricanes vs. Blackhawks due to snow in the Carolinas.
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
January 28, 1992 Brett Hull became just the second player in NHL history to record back to back seasons of 50 goals in 50 games (Wayne Gretzky had done so in 1983 & 1984). He scored #50 in a 3-3 Blues’ tie at Los Angeles.
January 29, 1977 The Blizzard of ’77 left many of the Sabres trapped in Buffalo. Only 14 players made it up to Montreal, but they managed to tie the Canadiens, 3-3.
January 30, 2003 Owen Nolan tied a San Jose team record with a goal in his sixth consecutive game, a 4-3 loss to the visiting Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Nolan scored 8 goals in the six games.
January 31, 1982 Grant Fuhr became the first goaltender in Edmonton Oilers history to win 20 games in one season. The milestone 20th victory of the year was a 7-4 win against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers.
February 01, 1977 Montreal’s Guy Lafleur began an NHL-record 28 game point scoring streak, with a goal and three assists, in the Canadiens’ 7-3 win over the Barons, at Cleveland. Wayne Gretzky later upped the record to 51 games.
February 02, 1928 Senators’ Alex Connell recorded the second of his NHL-record six consecutive shutouts, with a 1-0 win over the Montreal Maroons, in Ottawa. It was Connell’s 43rd career shutout.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. Washington 2. Ottawa 3. Los Angeles 4. San Jose 5. Phoenix
Bottom 5
30. Edmonton 29. Boston 28. Calgary 27. Toronto 26. NY Rangers
Well it looks like I’ll keep this section for now.
In order to make room for newly acquired Jason Blake and the returning Teemu Selanne they moved down Dan Sexton and Matt Beleskey. I don’t particularly care for those moves, particularly the Sexton move. I don’t think Blake and his high salary will add much to the Ducks team. Sexton, while not as hot as he was, is a fast and skilled player. Ryan Carter or Troy Bodie would have been better choices to demote.
The Ducks played the Capitals a day after losing to the Thrashers and as predicted they got crushed 5-1. Playing back to back games especially games that far away is ridiculous. I don’t see how any team would have a chance. In Giguere’s send off game, he gave up 5 goals on 49 shots. Not to shabby considering how under siege he was. The lone goal was scored by the newly demoted Dan Sexton. The Ducks have a funny way of thanking people sometimes.
My last game on Fox Sports Prime Ticket was against the Lightning and it was a good one. The Ducks prevailed 2-1 in a tight contest that showcased the James Wisniewski show. Wisniewski scored the only goal for the Ducks in regulation and then he followed it up with his second consecutive shootout winning goal. The Wisniewski pick-up last year was a really great find for the Ducks and Bob Murray. Hiller had some nice saves as did Niittymaki.
Then in a game no one saw because it wasn’t televised anywhere, the Ducks beat the Panthers 3-0. Truly pathetic that no one broadcasted the game. Selanne made his triumphant return and scored, what else, a powerplay goal. He is just 4 goals shy of joining the 600 goal club. If he can find a way to not get injured again, he will get that this season. The Ducks have the always fun Red Wings up next.
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 Written by:
Alex Mueller
The Devils Bedevil the Experts – With the third best record in the East, even spending some time in 1st, the Devils are surprising many except for me. New Jersey was picked by most experts to finish 3rd at best and in some cases in 4th place behind even the Rangers, why I have no idea.
The Devils will always be competitive with a healthy Martin Brodeur, that’s a given. Offensively Zach Parise is a budding star. Travis Zajac started to come into his own last year and he is continuing his progression this year. Jamie Langenbrunner, when healthy, provides a nice veteran presence. Former 1st round pick of the 2005 draft Niclas Bergfors has finally been given ample playing time this year and he is starting to deliver. Veteran Patrick Elias is always dangerous as a goal scorer when healthy.
The Devils defense is pretty blue collared these days. Gone are the days of the headline grabbing defenseman like Scott Stevens and Scott Neidermayer. The defense these days are led by guys like Johnny Oduya, Bryce Salvador, Colin White and Andy Greene. The Devils D is so blue collar only one defenseman on the Devils is on the Top 50 highest paid defenseman list. That one guy would be Paul Martin, he checks in at number 38, who is currently injured.
The Devils hope to avenge their surprising 1st round exit last year to Carolina. They should definitely make the playoffs again this year. If they do, it will be their 13th in a row. Only the Detroit Red Wings have a higher current streak at 18 seasons. They should also contend for the division title with Penguins, especially if the Flyers continue to struggle.
Jonathan Quick is an emerging goalie for the emerging Los Angeles Kings. While not in the elite goalie class, in a few seasons Quick’s might be mentioned with the Brodeurs of the hockey world. Quick is also one of the taller goalies in the league measuring 6 foot 1.
The USA born Quick was a standout goalie at his high school prep school in Connecticut. After high school, Quick decided to play at the University of Massachusetts were he lead the team to its first ever NCAA hockey tournament appearance. The Minutemen beat Clarkson but then lost to Maine. Quick was drafted by the Kings in the 2005 draft as the 72nd pick overall.
In the 2007-08 season Quick played in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was most successful playing in the AHL for the Kings affiliate Manchester Monarchs. He only played 3 games in the NHL that year posting a 3.58 GAA and a .855 SV%, not sterling numbers by any means. In the following season Quick started out the year playing at Manchester, but was called up to play for the Kings in December and remained up for the rest of the year posting 21 wins to 18 losses, a 2.48 GAA and a .914 SV%. In certain stretches he played spectacularly prompting the Kings to name him the starting netminder for the 09-10 season.
So far Quick’s numbers this year are a little worse than last years (2.60 GAA and .904 SV%) and he has yet to post a shutout. The Kings other options for goalies include Jonathan Bernier and Erik Ersberg. However, both goalies have been somewhat disappointing, Ersberg more so. Quick should be the number one goalie for the foreseeable future. Considering this is only his 2nd season and he is only 23, he has tremendous upside. The Kings hope to make the playoffs with Quick for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Three fights in the battle of Pennsylvania including 1 fight that literally lasted a minute with no punches. I liked this one for the intensity but Carcillo dominated.
Ryan was able to maintain his handle on the puck and shoot it in after he had his leg hooked by Kris Russell.
Things I like
1. Newly called up Dan Sexton has a 3 game goal streak going and has the given the Ducks new scoring life. He’s is quite fast too. With him on one side and Bobby Ryan on the other, they make for one of the speediest wing tandems in the league.
2. Los Angeles has quietly crept up to tie for the top spot in the west. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and even beat the Sharks in that stretch. They did all of this despite their top scorer Anze Kopitar not doing much.
3. Tuukka Rask doesn’t play much for Boston, but when he fills in for Tim Thomas he really delivers, with his 1.97GAA and .932 SV%.
Things I don’t
1. The Southeast Division’s bottom feeding teams. The Lightning, Hurricanes and Panthers have a combined 6 wins in their last 30 games yikes. If it wasn’t for the Thrashers we could probably already crown the Capitals.
2. Jonas Hiller has been pretty disappointing this year after his phenomenal campaign last year. If he continues to play as he is, it will create problems for the Ducks who will then more than likely let him walk and keep Jean-Sebastien Giguere and his heavy salary.
3. The Flyers losing Ray Emery for about 6 weeks. Not much has gone right for the Flyers this season and this doesn’t help. Emery started out playing well but in 4 of his last 5 starts his save percentage was below .840, not good.
4. Speaking of the Flyers, I discussed their struggles last week, they seem to be struggling even more. They made a lot of changes to specifically compete with the Penguins and in their latest measuring stick game against the Penguins they lost 6-1. That now makes two losses against the Pens this year, though the first loss was more competitive. They get another shot at the Penguins this Thursday at home.
Stat Line of the Week
12/11/09 Oilers 5 vs. Blues 3
Skater
TOI
G
A
+/-
SOG
PIM
D. Penner
19:54
1
3
+4
2
0
Dustin Penner was on the ice for 4 of the Oilers 5 goals and he had a hand in all 4 of those goals. He racked up a goal (unassisted) and 3 assists for the night.
Did You Know?
The first NHL entry draft was in 1963. The first 20 years 1963 to 1982, a Canadian was taken with the top pick. Brian Lawton from the USA was the first non-Canadian picked. Of the 47 drafts only five number 1 picks weren’t from North America. Russia has two of those five. The USA has had six players taken and Canada has had 36.
Numbers, Numbers
0 – Number of overtime losses for Vancouver, still.
6-10-2 – St. Louis’s home record
8-2-3 – St. Louis’s road record
29 – Goal differential of the Capitals, 1st in the East
4 – Goal differential of the Kings, tied for 1st in the West
This Week in Hockey History
Special thanks to the Hockey Hall of Fame site for making this section a little easier to do.
December 10, 1992 Quebec’s Mats Sundin extended his team-record point scoring streak to 30 games in the Nordiques’ 5-4 win at Los Angeles. Sundin scored 21 goals, 25 assists for a total of 46 points during the 30 game streak.
December 11, 1977 Tom Bladon set an NHL record for most points in a game by a defenseman. His 8 points (4 goals & 4 assists) led Philadelphia to an 11-1 win over the Cleveland Barons. Bladon also set a record by going +10.
December 11, 2000 Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux officially announced that he was coming out of retirement to return to playing for the Penguins.
December 12, 1971 Chicago’s Bobby Hull became the fifth player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points. His milestone point was an assist in his 909th game, a 5-3 Black Hawks’ win over the Minnesota North Stars.
December 13, 1987 Calgary’s Joe Nieuwendyk became the first NHL rookie since Cully Wilson (Toronto 1919-20) to score four goals twice in his first season, in a 7-1 Flames in at Buffalo.
December 14, 2000 Rob Blake scored his first career hat trick and added two assists for his first five-point game in the Kings 5-5 tie against the visiting New York Rangers.
December 15, 1988 Mario Lemieux had a goal and four assists in Pittsburgh’s 8-2 win over the Islanders to become the Penguins’ all-time leader in career assists, breaking the old mark of 349 set by Syl Apps. It came in Lemieux’s 321st NHL game.
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
1. Los Angeles
2. New Jersey
3. Pittsburgh
4. Washington
5. Buffalo
Bottom 5
30. Carolina
29. Philadelphia
28. Columbus
27. Tampa Bay
26. Florida
The Ducks have points in the last 5 games now. Unfortunately 3 of those were overtime losses in games they could have and should have won. So because they are only gaining 1 point, and since the teams they lose to are in the same conference, they really don’t gain much.
So tell me if you heard this before, the Ducks take a 2 goal lead into the 3rd period and manage to lose anyway. Of course you have and the Ducks manage to do it again to the Red Wings. It’s a shame because they really owned the first 2 periods of play. Of course when you take 10 penalties it’s hard to win games. Some of the calls were typical lame calls by the ref, like the Parros interference and some of the holding calls, but that’s life. Sexton scored again and with his emergence the Ducks now have three players (Perry, Ryan, Sexton) that look like they just graduated from high school. They are all shy and quiet in post game interviews too. The Red Wings won it in overtime.
The Ducks jumped out to a 2 goal lead against the Blue Jackets and this time changed it up a bit and instead of giving up a goal in the 3rd, they give it up in the last minute of the 2nd period. However, the Ducks actually gave up none in the 3rd and scored one themselves. Sexton scored again to up his goal streak to 3 games in a row. The Selanne injury seems like a blessing in disguise now. If he never would have went down, Sexton would never have been called up. Lupul is still injured too. I think when Selanne gets back he should go on the top line with Perry and Getzlaf. Ryan and Sexton should stay together with Koivu.
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 Written by:
Alex Mueller
‘Tis the season to underachieve? – So who are this years biggest underachievers? Some might say Vancouver or Detroit. Detroit is due for a bad year after all their years of success and Vancouver, while a decent team, is a team I think is overrated. Some “experts” picked them to go to the finals this year. Really? At any rate both teams are only a few points out of playoff spots. The biggest disappointments would be, by far, Carolina, Philadelphia and Anaheim. All of them made the playoffs last year and they were all pretty much expected to build upon their success last year. Philadelphia has really tumbled lately, all they down to 13th place, and just recently fired their head coach. Carolina and Anaheim are bottom feeders. So what has happened?
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 3rd period leads which happened in a stretch of three games in a row. They are 2nd in the league in giving up the most goals in the 3rd period. They need to have that killer instinct and shut teams out in the 3rd 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 2nd to last, which is never a good sign. The Hurricanes are also tied for 2nd with the Ducks in giving up the most goals in the 3rd period. Hmm… let’s see, bad powerplay, check, struggling 1st line, check, starting goalie injured, check, giving up tons of 3rd 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.
Kiprusoff is a Finland native and was selected in the 5th 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 1st 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 2nd 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 24th 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 1st 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.
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 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 100th anniversary on Dec. 4th. 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 28th 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
Skater
TOI
G
A
+/-
SOG
PIM
M. Duco
5:57
0
0
-1
1
27
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
Skater
TOI
G
A
+/-
SOG
PIM
N. Backstrom
19:50
1
4
+1
2
0
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)
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 1st 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.
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
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 3rd 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 3rd 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 3rd 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.
