Alone on an Island – The 70′s and 80′s were a good time to be an Islanders fan. Four Stanley Cup victories in a row and 15 straight playoff appearances. But then the 90′s reared it’s ugly head and doom and gloom fell upon Long Island. After their 1^st round loss to the Devils in 1987-88, the Islanders have only made the playoffs in seven of the next 21 seasons. Only once in those seven playoff appearances did they advance past the 1^st round. Now the 2010-11 incarnation of the Islanders is mired in a 13 game winless streak.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

Rick DiPietro – NY Islanders

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Darcy Hordichuk vs. Shawn Thornton

Decent fight between these two, advantage Thornton.

Krys Barch vs. Colton Orr

A nice long fight that Orr clearly domaintes.

Kevin Westgarth vs. Chris Neil

Decent scrap despite Westgarth’s balancing issues.

Goats of the Week

Jaroslav Halak – St. Louis Blues

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

Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

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

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

0 – Minus games for Toni Lydman thus far this season

0 – Regulation losses for the Blues at home

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

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

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

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

Quotes of the Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You will be missed Pat Buns.

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Detroit

2. Phoenix

3. Columbus

4. Philadelphia

5. Colorado

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Edmonton

28. Calgary

27. Anaheim

26. Carolina

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).

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

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

Fights of the Week

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

Cam Janssen vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

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

Brad Winchester vs. Brandon Prust

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

Ryane Clowe vs. Jarome Iginla

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

Goats of the Week

Lots of goats this week, enjoy.

Thomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

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

Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks

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

Joel Quenneville – Chicago Blackhawks Coach

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

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

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

The Teemu Selanne edition, in honor of his 600 goals

97 – Career game winning goals

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

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

None this week, will be back next week

Fights of the Week

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

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

Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond vs. Jay Rosehill

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

Colin White vs Dion Phaneuf

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

Goat(s) of the Week

Johan Hedberg – Atlanta Thrashers

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

Ryan Miller – Buffalo Sabres

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

01/30/10  Calgary 6 vs. Edmonton 1

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

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

8 – Consecutive losses by the Bruins.

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

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

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

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.