Beasts of the East – Good luck figuring out the Western Conference because you really can’t. In the Eastern Conference it’s a lot simpler. Eight teams of course get into the playoffs but there’s only five teams that really have a chance. They are conveniently 1 through 5 in the standings currently. Tampa Bay and Atlanta have a shot but I don’t think their teams are complete enough yet. Unlike last year, don’t expect the top three seeds to get dumped. Illustrating the point that last year was no fluke, the 6^th (Boston), 7^th (Philadelphia) and 8^th (Montreal) seeds are currently 5^th 4^th and 3^rd respectively. While the teams they upset (New Jersey and Buffalo), except Washington, are currently towards the bottom of the standings and probably won’t figure into the playoff mix. Pittsburgh, Montreal, Washington, Boston and Philadelphia should finish in the top five spots but since there are five of them, two of them will have to face off against each other in the 1^st round. Washington should win their division so that will leave the two teams that don’t win the other two divisions to square off. I know it is still early but every point counts for these teams, as I’m sure they would like to avoid having to play one of the other in the 1^st round and they would also like to secure home ice advantage in the 1^st, 2^nd and possibly 3^rd round of the playoffs. All of the top five teams have a strong balanced offensive attack, where they don’t have to rely on just one line to score, and all of them have strong goaltenders having mostly career years. Washington, Pittsburgh and Boston each boast a pretty good goaltending tandem. The next 2/3 of the season should be fun to watch them jockey for position especially the games against themselves, which so far have been mostly one goal contests except for a few 3-0 games.

Goalie Spotlight

Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins

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

Tim Thomas was the winner of the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) and the William Jennings trophy (best GAA for a team) with Manny Fernandez two seasons ago. However it took a long time for success and recognition to come to Thomas at the professional level. He won the Vezina trophy at the age of 34. He was the oldest first time winner in 43 years since Gump Worsley did it at age 36 in the 1965-66 season for the Montreal Canadiens.

Michigan born Thomas played at the University of Vermont. He was a two-time All-ECAC Conference selection and a two-time NCAA East All-American. He also holds many Vermont records including; games played (140), wins (81), and minutes played (3,950). He is also second in the NCAA Division I record book in career saves (3,950). Thomas was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994 but nothing ever came of that. He finished up his four years of playing at Vermont. After playing briefly in ECHL and IHL, Thomas made his way to Finland where he played for HIFK in the SM-liiga league. He led them to the championship that year.

He signed with the Edmonton Oilers in 1998 and joined their AHL affiliate only to end up in Finland again. He came back to the states to play for the Detroit Vipers only to end up in Europe again this time playing in the Swedish league. He then signed with the Boston Bruins but elected to play a year in the SM-liiga Finnish league again. He then came back to the states to play for the Bruins affiliate the Providence Bruins. He played a few games for the Bruins too during the stint and ironically his first NHL win came against the Oilers, the team that drafted him. He returned to Finland for the 4th time and racked up a league high SV% and broke the league shutout mark for a season. He led his team to a 2nd place finish that year. Finally done with Finland, Thomas came back to the Bruins (both Providence and Boston.) Due to injuries to two goalies he was supposed to backup in different seasons, Thomas emerged as the number one goalie. His last two seasons (2007-08, 2008-09) were his statistical best in the NHL and he was also named to the All-Star game both times, the first time as a replacement and the second time as a starter.

Thomas led the Bruins to their best record in some time in the 08-09 season and despite suffering a tough 7th game lost in the 2nd round to the Hurricanes, expectations were high in 2009-10 for Boston. Boston struggled somewhat that season but rebounded to make the playoffs before suffering their embarrassing collapse against the Flyers. Tuukka Rask ended up taking over the number one goalie position that year, not because Thomas necessarily struggled but because Rask was hotter. This season it was assumed to be Rask’s job to lose. Which is exactly what Rask did when he struggled to start the year off. Thomas was given the opportunity to take back the starting job, which he did when he was off to his best start in his career. Already recording 5 shutouts this season, Thomas should easily pass his career high of 5 set the previous two seasons. It’s likely he will also add another Vezina to his trophy collection.

Fights of the Week

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

Derek Dorsett vs. Patrick Kaleta

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

Shawn Thornton vs. Jody Shelley

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

Goats of the Week

Mike Weber – Buffalo Sabres

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

P.K Subban and Michal Cammalleri – Montreal Canadiens

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

Mike Smith – Tampa Bay Lightning

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

Mike Smith and Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

12/02/10 Pittsburgh 3 vs. Atlanta 2

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

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

16 – Straight games with a point for Sidney Crosby

40 – Giveaways by Ryan Getzlaf tops in the NHL

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

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

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

Quotes of the Week

“It’s not fun until it’s over.”

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

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

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

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

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

“They must have run out of bodies.”

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Pittsburgh

2. Detroit

3. Dallas

4. Atlanta

5. Chicago

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Minnesota

28. Columbus

27. New Jersey

26. Ottawa

When is it time to hang up the skates? – Patrick Roy was my idol he along with my 1988-89 Panini hockey sticker book are what got me into hockey. When Roy retired in 2003 I was annoyed and upset. Not because my favorite player retired, because I knew he would eventually, but because the Avalanche were eliminated in the 1^st round against the Minnesota Wild a team they should have beaten. I wanted Roy’s career to end on a high note. Maybe not another Stanley Cup but definitely another long playoff run and certainly not a bitter Game 7 1^st round exit. But I guess Roy knew it was over for him and in reality he had nothing left to prove with his four Stanley Cups and numerous records. Most of those records have since been broken by Martin Brodeur. Which brings me to the point of this piece; it’s time to hang them up Marty.

The Devils haven’t advanced past the 1^st round of the playoffs the last three years. They haven’t been out of the 2^nd round since they last won the cup in 2003. Now not all of it is Brodeur’s fault but last year against the Flyers was just a disaster. Two years ago against the Hurricanes we all remember the two goals in the final two minutes of Game 7. Once again not entirely Brodeur’s fault as the first goal was just great passing and the second goal was partially deflected off of the Devils defenseman’s stick. Still you have to wonder that maybe those were not the best signs. This year the Devils and Brodeur (3.18 GAA, .887 SV%) are not off to a very good start. The last game against the Bruins, Brodeur gave up four goals. Some weren’t his fault but a couple of the goals you think in his heyday he would have stopped them. Sure problems plague the Devils in general. First there was the Kovalchuk contract thing, then them not resigning Paul Martin and then the failure to be able to afford enough players but it just seems like the Brodeur and Devils magic has run its course. The Devils play in the tough Atlantic division, so while they may have the talent they may not get the record to show it this season.

I realize it’s not easy for a seventeen year NHL veteran who has been surround with hockey his whole life, including when he was a kid from watching his dad play. to just stop playing but at some point he will need to make that decision. Dominik Hasek retired only to come back a season later and then retire again. Of course he recently came out of retirement again to play for the Czech Extraliga League and now the KHL at the age of 45. The reason Hasek retired from the NHL the second time was about motivation. Hasek said, “I’m glad I can make my decision. I’m not ready to compete [anymore] on the highest level.” I guess Brodeur is still motivated to compete but when you have two Olympic Gold Medals, three Stanley Cup championships and you hold almost every major goaltending record, what else do you need to prove?

Goalie Spotlight

Brent Johnson – Pittsburgh Penguins

Despite being in his 2^nd year with the Penguins, Penguins fans might wonder who is Brent Johnson and where is Marc-Andre Fleury?

A product of Farmington, Michigan Johnson was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 with the 129^th overall pick but he never actually played for them. He played for the Owen Sound Platers in the OHL but didn’t produce the best numbers. Next up was the Worcester Ice Cats of the AHL where he fared a little better. In the 1998-99 season with the Blues he finally made his NHL debut. He only played in six gamed but he played well. That year the Blues actually started five different goalies, so it’s amazing he got any playing time at all. He went back to the AHL again for a season before cracking the blues lineup the next season where he split time with Roman Turek. The next season, 2001-02 was the only season where he started over 50 games in the NHL. Producing a 2.18 GAA, .902 SV% and 5 shutouts in 58 games. The following season the Blues actually used seven different starting goalies. He was eventually phased out until he was traded to the Coyotes in a brief stint. He then latched on to the Capitals where he mainly backed up Olaf Kolizig. He was lastly the backup to Jose Theodore until Semyon Varlamov emerged as the number two goalie and then eventually the number one.

Last season Johnson backed up Fleury starting in 23 games. This season he has actually played one more game than Fleury. He is so far undefeated with four wins and a 1.49 GAA and .950 SV%. Since leading the Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory in 2009 Fleury hasn’t quite been the same. It’s not that his numbers are down, they are, but it’s more about the kind of fluky goals he lets in from time to time. So far this year Fleury has struggled as well. If Fleury can’t manage to get it together, Johnson will play an integral part in the Penguins run for another Stanley Cup.

Fights of the Week

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

Colton Orr vs. Deryk Engelland

Colton Orr with experience of over 200 fights in three different leagues was expected to be of no match for Engelland. The fight was fairly even despite Engelland having his view blocked by his dangling helmet for a bit but Engelland in the end had the KO.

Michael Rupp vs. Jody Shelley

A pretty decent scrap between these two.

Chris Stewart vs Zenon Konopka

Real decent scrap just five seconds into the game. Stewart is the Avalanche’s 2^nd leading scorer too. What’s not to love?

Goat of the Week

Tyler Myers – Buffalo Sabres

Last years Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers mishandles the puck and Patrick Kane makes him pay setting up Patrick Sharp for the 1^st goal of the game. A goal that proved costly, as the Sabres lost to the Blackhawks 4-3.

Things I like

1. Thomas Kopecky is leading the Blackhawks in assists and tied for 2^nd in points. Drafted 38^th overall in the 200 draft, Kopecky has never scored more than 21 points in a season. Of course Kopecky is now playing on the 2^nd line with Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, which always helps, so he should at least triple his previous point high. Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd who?

2. Who said the Capitals had no defense? *raises hand* The Capitals have been shorthanded 25 times this season and have so far yielded no power play goals. Whether they can keep it up or not is anyone’s guess. Since losing 4-2 to the Thrashers on opening night, the Capitals have only given up two goals or less in each game since. Credit also goes to Michal Neuvirth who has played well in place of injured Semyon Varlamov, who is now back. Of course last night against the Bruins they did give up three goals in a loss.

3. The Penguins power play actually started the week in my “Things I Don’t” section because their power play was ranked 20^th in the NHL. It’s unacceptable really for a line that boasts Malkin and Crosby and having a man advantage to be ranked that low. But they have since woken up to rise all the way to 10^th place since Sidney Crosby unleashed back to back power play goals in Philadelphia. The Penguins also get the most practice on power plays as they far and away lead the NHL with the most power play opportunities with 40.

4. The Los Angeles Kings, proving that last year was not a mirage, are off to a fairly decent start at 3-1. Jonathon Quick is off to a great start that he needed to have. He has let in just three goals in three games thus far. They are maintaining their well balanced offense and bringing the stars out to games, such as Vince Vaughn and Bristol Palin. Did I actually use Bristol Palin and star in the same sentence?

Things I don’t

1. The Flames reunited top line of Alex Tanguay, Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginila. They had produced no points until their last game against the Oilers. This only happened because Jokinen was bumped down to the 2^nd line probably not what the Flames had envisioned when the required him but Jokinen did help set up a goal on that line. If bumping him down to the 2^nd line and Matt Stajan up is what’s needed to produce points, I think Calgary and the fans will take it.

2. Call me absolutely puzzled with the Joe Thornton deal. In the five postseasons with the Sharks, Thornton has only averaged a point a game just once and has a negative +/- in three of the five postseasons. If I was the Sharks management I would have waited to see what Thornton does in this postseason before I made an offer. Sure he’d be an unrestricted free agent but he doesn’t seem like the kind of player that would play hardball in negations. Plus if he fails miserably in the playoffs, nobody would want him anyway.

3. Luca Sbisa was probably the biggest component of the Chris Pronger trade, as the Ducks were hoping to get a young dominant defenseman to replace the old dominant defenseman. It hasn’t really worked out that way though. For the 3^rd straight year Sbisa was sent down to the Minors. It has to be disappointing for the Olympian, especially since 18 year old Cam Fowler is excelling on the team. I hope next year Sbisa is finally ready.

4. The Shane Doan suspension I thought was a bit much. I didn’t care for his hit on Cam Fowler that broke Fowler’s nose or the hit on Dan Sexton. What bothered me more though is that the ref didn’t call a penalty on either during the game. Doan is, I believe, a first time offender so I think one or two games would have served the purpose. I’ve certainly seen worse hits than the one Doan gave Sexton. The NHL clearly wants to send a message.

Stat Line of the Week

10/16/10 Florida 6 vs. Tampa Bay 0

Bryan McCabe help lead the rout of the Lightning with his four assists in the battle of Florida. Mcabe’s nice pass just two minutes into the game to Corey Stillman help set the tone of the game. Florida has now beaten their last two opponents by a combined 9-0 score.

Did You Know?

The Longest NHL suspension was given to Billy Coutu in 1927 for life. Coutu started a bench clearing brawl at the end of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the apparent behest of coach Art Ross, he of the Art Ross trophy fame. He assaulted referee Jerry Laflamme and tackled referee Billy Bell. Two and a half years later the suspension was lifted but Coutu never played for the NHL again.

Numbers, Numbers

10 – Number of wins for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1993-94, the longest wining streak to start a season

15 – Number of games won or tied by the Edmonton Oilers in 1984-85, the longest undefeated streak to start a season

3 – Shorthanded goals against the Colorado Avalanche, currently worst in the league

9 – Total shorthanded goals against the Avalanche last year, 2^nd worst in the league

300 – Career goals by Dany Heatley

2 – Even strength goals for the Wild in the first four games

3 – Even strength goals last night against the Canucks

This Week in Hockey History

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

October 14, 1998     New York Islanders became just the third team in NHL history to shut out the same opponent four straight times (and the first to do so since 1927) when goalie Tommy Salo recorded his 10th career shutout in a 2-0 win at Tampa Bay.

October 15, 2003     Daniel Alfredsson scored twice to become the Ottawa Senators’ all-time leading scorer (with his 492nd career point) in a 4-3 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles. Alfredsson broke the franchise mark of 491 points set by Alexei Yashin.

October 16, 1982     Gil Perreault scored his 15th career hat trick and added two assists, one of which came on rookie Phil Housley’s first NHL goal, to lead the Sabres to a 9-2 win over the Capitals at Washington.

October 17, 1982     Victor Nechayev became the first Soviet-trained player to score a goal in the NHL — he helped the Kings to a 5-3 win over the Rangers, at New York. Nachaev played just three games during his NHL career.

October 18, 2000     18-year-old rookie Marian Gaborik scored twice in the final 2:28 of the game to lead the Minnesota Wild to their first victory in team history, 6-5 over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.

October 19, 1980     In a pre-game ceremony at Chicago Stadium, Stan Mikita’s uniform #21 was retired by the Black Hawks. It was the first Hawk jersey to be retired. Chicago then won the game 8-4 over the Washington Capitals.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Toronto
2. Washington
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Tampa Bay

Bottom 5

30. Buffalo
29. Ottawa
28. New Jersey
27. Minnesota
26. Phoenix

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

Goalie Spotlight

Tomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

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

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Rick Rypien vs. Chris Neil

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

Tanner Glass vs. Matt Carkner

Carkner makes Glass his punching bag.

Dominic Moore vs. Zach Bogosian

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

Jody Shelley vs. Colton Orr

Shelley knocks out Orr with his 2nd punch.

Goat of the Week

Patrick Lalime – Buffalo Sabres

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

02/06/10 Toronto 5 vs. Ottawa 0

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers – the streak edition

14 – The Washington Capital’s current winning streak.

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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