Happy 4^th of July all of our Pucking Awesome readers, and now that we are all full of hot dogs, hamburgers and fireworks we will look back at the fireworks that occurred in the first three days of free agency in this weeks Pucking Awesome Hat Trick.

The riches contract was given out before July 1^st as Tomas Plekanec got a 6-year, $30 million deal to stay in Montreal.   Patrick Marleau, also came off the market before July 1^st signing the riches per year contract as he will be paid $6.9 million per year to continue to know the way to San Jose.   

As for the riches deal given out on the 1^st was to the twice traded Dan Hamhuis, as he went home to the tune of $27 million for six years.  Sergei Gonchar left the friendly confines of Crosby land to sign the riches per year deal on July 1^st, a $5.5 million per year to play in Ottawa. 

Atlantic Division Goes Defensive:

The division that has had four teams make the playoff’s three out of the last four years just got tougher to play against, literally.  With the Flyers trading for talented defenseman Andrej Meszaros, a year after trading for future hall-of-famer Chris Pronger, re-signing young stud Bryadon Coburn and adding veteran Sean O’Donnell.  That signaled the race was on in the Atlantic to put up the best defensive unit in the division. 

The Penguins, who lost top defender Sergei Gonchar, responded by signing the block shot machine Zbynek Michalek to a 5-year, $20 million deal.  Later in the day the purged the division rival Devils, by signing the smooth skating Paul Martin to a 5-year, $25 million deal.

Lou Lamoriello responded to the loss of Martin by signing the hard hitting, tough nose Anton Volcehnkov to a 6-year, $25.5 million deal.  He also added the sturdy Henrik Tallinder to a 4-year, $13.5 million deal.

We also can’t forget that the last place Islanders upgraded their defense by signing former Penguins Mark Eaton to a 2-year, $5 million deal and the hard hitting Milan Jurcina to a 1-year, $1 miilion deal. 

To be fair the Rangers are more focused right now on signing their own young talent as both Marc Staal and Dan Girardi are restricted free agents and they are in talks to sign talent prospect Ryan McDonough away from the NCAA champions Wisconsin.

With all that in mind, the Atlantic division now holds some of the best defensive corps in the NHL and the matchups between all these teams got more interesting with players jumping ship for greener pastures.

Back to the Past

The biggest head scratcher of the free agent frenzy that ensued on July 1^st was the return of Olli Jokinen to the Calgary Flames.  Jokinen was exiled from the team just five months before and didn’t set off any fires while in New York, scoring only four goals and adding 15 points in 24 games with the Rangers. 

Why would Darryl Sutter bring back the fu man chu?  Well one answer is he got him back for a cheaper price as he signed a two-year, $6 million deal.  Another would be the crop of free agents at center were so thin that he felt maybe the former 30-goal scorer would relish his second chance to center Jarome Iginla.  But both players employ a shoot first mentality so Sutter’s other, under-the-radar move was to bring back the slick passing winger Alex Tanguay. 

The 30-year-old Tanguay had two successful years playing on a top line with Iginla, with 40 goals and 99 assists, before being shipped out for a first round pick to Montreal.  Sutter took a lot of heat in the media for bringing back both of these former Flames, but the joke might be on everyone, if they build instant chemistry and give the Flames a dominant top line to go with their already stellar defense and Miikka Kiprusoff, they just better hope that their playoff lives do not come down to a shootout.

The Best of the Rest

The second waves of signing are often the most overlooked signings in the offseason.  The names that still roam free are some heavy hitters that could round up most teams looking to win the Stanley Cup.  The question now turns to the players, if they are willing to take a short term contract to prove that they are who we thought they were.

Mike Modano has not announced his plans of if he will return for a 21^st NHL season, if he does and signs with a contender he could be a great third line player, who kills penalties as he did score 14 goals last season and showed no signs that he has lost his legs.

Lee Stempniak is only 27-years old and scored 28 goals last season for the Maple Leafs and Coyotes.  Sure sounds like an attractive free agent to round out your second line?  The problem is he had 14 of those goals in his 18 games with the Coyotes and with only 96 career goals in 374 games it is hard to judge what Stempniak’s worth is on the open market.

 Willie Mitchell is one of the most underrated defenseman in the league.  The 33-year-old will hit anything and is solid in his own end.  His absence from the Canucks blue line this season was very noticeable as they failed to get past the second round.  Concussion issues are  scaring off potential new teams, as Mitchell has had two in his last three seasons, including being out of the lineup for most of last year.  He could be a cheap fine for a contending team, if he can prove the concussion symptoms are behind him.

Some other players to keep an eye on are;  goalies Evgeni Nabokov, Marty Turco and Jose Theodore,  wingers Paul Kariya, Bill Guerin, Alex Frolov and Eric Belanger, and defenseman Andy Sutton, Joe Corvo and Kim Johnsson. 

What an awesome 1^st round it’s been so far, probably the best bunch of 1^st round matches in quite some time. Ratings are up, all of the 1^st round series were tied 1-1 at some point and we’ve had a lot of overtimes. High intensity matchups and wide open hockey, you have got to love it. Best series so far for me are the Coyotes vs. the Red Wings, Canucks vs. Kings and Avalanche vs. Sharks. My least favorite are the Bruins vs. Sabres and the Blackhawks vs. Predators. I have no idea what it is but I just can’t get into either one.  Also there have been way too many goalies overplaying the 1^st save to lead to a wide open second chance which has generally gone in. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen that happen this much.

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

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

1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens

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

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

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

Likely Winner: Capitals

0 – Saves made by Jose Theodore on two shots

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

0 – Points thus far by Alexander Semin

2 New Jersey Devils vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers

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

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

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

Likely Winner: Flyers

.886% – Brodeur’s save percentage

3 Buffalo Sabres vs. 6 Boston Bruins

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

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

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

Likely Winner: Bruins

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Ottawa Senators

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

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

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

Likely Winner: Penguins

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

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 8 Colorado Avalanche

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

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

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

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

39 – Combined shots by Colorado in games 2 and 3

174 – total shots faced by Craig Anderson, yikes

Likely Winner: San Jose, barely

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7 Nashville Predators

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

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

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

Likely Winner: I still think Chicago can pull it out

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

3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings

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

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

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

Likely Winner: Kings

4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings

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

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

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

Likely Winner: too close to call

Goat of the Week

Dan Boyle – San Jose Sharks

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

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

T.J Galiardi – Colorado Avalanche

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well start growing your hockey beards it’s that time of year. Let’s take a look at the match-ups and try and break it down. BTW I love Wikipedia, it makes life so much easier. Also in case your wondering if going to the Olympic scoring system (Teams get three standings points for winning in regulation, two points for winning in overtime or in a shootout and one point for a team that loses in overtime or a shootout) would have had any impact on this season the answer is basically no. Exhibit A is here, the only difference is Nashville finishes ahead of Los Angeles and the New York Rangers gets in over Montreal. So basically only Rangers fans are upset right now. If you’re wondering I did not take that photo. I’ve discussed the current point system before here. I’m just annoyed the final spot came down to a shootout. I really think the overtime needs to be made at least ten minutes.

1 Washington Capitals vs. 8 Montreal Canadiens

Season Series: split 2-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 New Jersey Devils vs. 7 Philadelphia Flyers

Season Series: 5-1 Flyers

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Buffalo Sabres vs. 6 Boston Bruins

Season Series: Boston 4-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5 Ottawa Senators

Season Series: split 2-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 San Jose Sharks vs. 8 Colorado Avalanche

Season Series: split 2-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. 7 Nashville Predators

Season Series: Chicago 4-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Vancouver Canucks vs. 6 Los Angeles Kings

Season Series: Vancouver 3-1

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 Phoenix Coyotes vs. 5 Detroit Red Wings

Season Series: split 2-2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Matt Cooke vs. Evander Kane

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

Trevor Gillies vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

A decent back and forth fight with a weird start.

Micheal Haley vs. Rod Pelley

A decent back and forth fight with some good punches.

Goat of the Week

Marc Staal – New York Rangers

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

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

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

Did You Know?

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

Based on the likelihood of winning the Stanley Cup

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

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

East (Least)

1.        z-Washington             80        118     +83

2.        x-New Jersey             79        99        +25

3.        y-Buffalo                     79        98        +28

4.        x-Pittsburgh                79        97        +16

5.        x-Ottawa                     80        93        -9

6.        Montreal                     80        87        -2

7.        Philadelphia               80        86        +11

8.        Boston                        79        85        +1

West (Beast)

1.        y-San Jose                 80        109     +46

2.        y-Chicago                  79        107     +59

3.        y-Vancouver               80        101     +48

4.        x-Phoenix                   79        102     +20

5.        x-Nashville                  80        98        +2

6.        x-Los Angeles           79        97        +23

7.        x-Detroit                     79        96        +10

8.        x-Colorado                 79        93        +16

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Darcy Hordichuk vs. George Parros

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

Jason Strudwick vs. Brian Sutherby

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

Goat of the Week

Roberto Luongo – Vancouver Canucks

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

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

04/03/10 Vancouver 5 vs. Anaheim 4

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

13 – Number of 25 goal seasons for Teemu Selanne

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

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Forwards to watch:

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

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

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

Defenseman To Watch:

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

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

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

Goalies To Watch:

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

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

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

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

Yes, in some ways there is. In the last 20 years we have never had a Stanley Cup winner with less than a plus 25 goal differential in the regular season. How about the loser? Well for the losers there have been various goal differentials. For the most part they’ve all had a positive goal differential too. There are three exceptions. Carolina in 01-02 lost to Detroit and had a 217/217 GF/GA. In 92-93 Los Angeles lost to Montreal with a negative differential 338/340 GF/GA. The Kings gave up a lot of goals that year, only three teams gave up more goals than them that season. In 90-91 the Minnesota North Stars (remember them) had a negative 10 differential 256/266 GF/GA and a 27-39-14 record (yikes!). Of course that year there were only 10 teams in the West so all but two teams got in the playoffs. It’s a good thing the NHL has expanded so things like that don’t happen anymore. Of course it begs the more interesting question, how did they get to the Finals and how sad would it have been if they had won?

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

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

So that means if we cut out the bubbles teams, though there are still five to seven games left so a lot could change, your Stanley Cup Champions will either be Washington, Buffalo, Vancouver, Chicago or San Jose. Keep in mind last year’s winner, Pittsburgh, had a differential of +25 the lowest in some time and where I got the cutoff point from. Let’s see if the pattern holds true this year.

Goalie Spotlight

Next week, hopefully.

Fights of the Week

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

Adam Burish vs. Derek Dorsett

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

Cory Sarich vs. Jason Chimera

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

Goats of the Week

Antoine Vermette – Columbus Blue Jackets

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

Jimmy Howard – Detroit Red Wings

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

Things I like

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

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

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

(hey they’re all under 10, go figure)

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

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Ironically there all gone now except for Edmonton.

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

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

Fights of the Week

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

Cam Janssen vs. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond

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

Brad Winchester vs. Brandon Prust

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

Ryane Clowe vs. Jarome Iginla

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

Goats of the Week

Lots of goats this week, enjoy.

Thomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

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

Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks

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

Joel Quenneville – Chicago Blackhawks Coach

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

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

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

The Teemu Selanne edition, in honor of his 600 goals

97 – Career game winning goals

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

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

Marc-Andre Fleury – Pittsburgh Penguins

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

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Colton Orr vs. Cam Janssen

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

Nate Thompson vs. Matt Martin

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

Aaron Rome vs. James Sheppard

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

Goat of the Week

Steve Montador – Buffalo Sabres

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

02/14/10 Anaheim 7 vs. Edmonton 3

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers

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

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

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

0 – Points scored by Cam Janssen so far this season

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

Tomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers

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

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

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

Rick Rypien vs. Chris Neil

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

Tanner Glass vs. Matt Carkner

Carkner makes Glass his punching bag.

Dominic Moore vs. Zach Bogosian

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

Jody Shelley vs. Colton Orr

Shelley knocks out Orr with his 2nd punch.

Goat of the Week

Patrick Lalime – Buffalo Sabres

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Week

02/06/10 Toronto 5 vs. Ottawa 0

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

Did You Know?

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

Numbers, Numbers – the streak edition

14 – The Washington Capital’s current winning streak.

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

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

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

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

This Week in Hockey History

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Anaheim Ducks Watch

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

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

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

The Devils Bedevil the Experts – With the third best record in the East, even spending some time in 1^st, the Devils are surprising many except for me. New Jersey was picked by most experts to finish 3^rd at best and in some cases in 4^th place behind even the Rangers, why I have no idea.

The Devils will always be competitive with a healthy Martin Brodeur, that’s a given. Offensively Zach Parise is a budding star. Travis Zajac started to come into his own last year and he is continuing his progression this year. Jamie Langenbrunner, when healthy, provides a nice veteran presence. Former 1^st round pick of the 2005 draft Niclas Bergfors has finally been given ample playing time this year and he is starting to deliver. Veteran Patrick Elias is always dangerous as a goal scorer when healthy.

The Devils defense is pretty blue collared these days. Gone are the days of the headline grabbing defenseman like Scott Stevens and Scott Neidermayer. The defense these days are led by guys like Johnny Oduya, Bryce Salvador, Colin White and Andy Greene. The Devils D is so blue collar only one defenseman on the Devils is on the Top 50 highest paid defenseman list. That one guy would be Paul Martin, he checks in at number 38, who is currently injured.

The Devils hope to avenge their surprising 1^st round exit last year to Carolina. They should definitely make the playoffs again this year. If they do, it will be their 13^th in a row. Only the Detroit Red Wings have a higher current streak at 18 seasons. They should also contend for the division title with Penguins, especially if the Flyers continue to struggle.

Goalie Spotlight

Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings

Jonathan Quick is an emerging goalie for the emerging Los Angeles Kings. While not in the elite goalie class, in a few seasons Quick’s might be mentioned with the Brodeurs of the hockey world. Quick is also one of the taller goalies in the league measuring 6 foot 1.

The USA born Quick was a standout goalie at his high school prep school in Connecticut. After high school, Quick decided to play at the University of Massachusetts were he lead the team to its first ever NCAA hockey tournament appearance. The Minutemen beat Clarkson but then lost to Maine. Quick was drafted by the Kings in the 2005 draft as the 72^nd pick overall.

In the 2007-08 season Quick played in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was most successful playing in the AHL for the Kings affiliate Manchester Monarchs. He only played 3 games in the NHL that year posting a 3.58 GAA and a .855 SV%, not sterling numbers by any means. In the following season Quick started out the year playing at Manchester, but was called up to play for the Kings in December and remained up for the rest of the year posting 21 wins to 18 losses, a 2.48 GAA and a .914 SV%. In certain stretches he played spectacularly prompting the Kings to name him the starting netminder for the 09-10 season.

So far Quick’s numbers this year are a little worse than last years (2.60 GAA and .904 SV%) and he has yet to post a shutout. The Kings other options for goalies include Jonathan Bernier and Erik Ersberg. However, both goalies have been somewhat disappointing, Ersberg more so. Quick should be the number one goalie for the foreseeable future. Considering this is only his 2^nd season and he is only 23, he has tremendous upside. The Kings hope to make the playoffs with Quick for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Fights of the Week

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

Boris Valabik vs. Rick Rypien

Everyone’s favorite fighter Rick Rypien is back. I really like the way he does the little things in a fight and systematically beats you.

Brian McGrattan vs. David Koci

The ninth billionth fight between these two, err wait the 7^th time. The other 6 times were in the AHL.

Daniel Carcillo vs. Craig Adams

Three fights in the battle of Pennsylvania including 1 fight that literally lasted a minute with no punches. I liked this one for the intensity but Carcillo dominated.

Jean-Francois Jacques vs. B.J. Crombeen

Okay fight on the long side that had its moments. BTW I don’t think you can have a more French name than Jean-Francois Jacques.

Goat of the Week

None this week

Shot of the Week

Bobby Ryan – Anaheim Ducks

Ryan was able to maintain his handle on the puck and shoot it in after he had his leg hooked by Kris Russell.

Things I like

1. Newly called up Dan Sexton has a 3 game goal streak going and has the given the Ducks new scoring life. He’s is quite fast too. With him on one side and Bobby Ryan on the other, they make for one of the speediest wing tandems in the league.

2. Los Angeles has quietly crept up to tie for the top spot in the west. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and even beat the Sharks in that stretch. They did all of this despite their top scorer Anze Kopitar not doing much.

3. Tuukka Rask doesn’t play much for Boston, but when he fills in for Tim Thomas he really delivers, with his 1.97GAA and .932 SV%.

Things I don’t

1. The Southeast Division’s bottom feeding teams. The Lightning, Hurricanes and Panthers have a combined 6 wins in their last 30 games yikes. If it wasn’t for the Thrashers we could probably already crown the Capitals.

2. Jonas Hiller has been pretty disappointing this year after his phenomenal campaign last year. If he continues to play as he is, it will create problems for the Ducks who will then more than likely let him walk and keep Jean-Sebastien Giguere and his heavy salary.

3. The Flyers losing Ray Emery for about 6 weeks. Not much has gone right for the Flyers this season and this doesn’t help. Emery started out playing well but in 4 of his last 5 starts his save percentage was below .840, not good.

4. Speaking of the Flyers, I discussed their struggles last week, they seem to be struggling even more. They made a lot of changes to specifically compete with the Penguins and in their latest measuring stick game against the Penguins they lost 6-1. That now makes two losses against the Pens this year, though the first loss was more competitive. They get another shot at the Penguins this Thursday at home.

Stat Line of the Week

12/11/09  Oilers 5 vs. Blues 3

Dustin Penner was on the ice for 4 of the Oilers 5 goals and he had a hand in all 4 of those goals. He racked up a goal (unassisted) and 3 assists for the night.

Did You Know?

The first NHL entry draft was in 1963. The first 20 years 1963 to 1982, a Canadian was taken with the top pick. Brian Lawton from the USA was the first non-Canadian picked. Of the 47 drafts only five number 1 picks weren’t from North America. Russia has two of those five. The USA has had six players taken and Canada has had 36.

Numbers, Numbers

0 – Number of overtime losses for Vancouver, still.

6-10-2 – St. Louis’s home record

8-2-3 – St. Louis’s road record

29 – Goal differential of the Capitals, 1^st in the East

4 – Goal differential of the Kings, tied for 1^st in the West

This Week in Hockey History

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

December 10, 1992    Quebec’s Mats Sundin extended his team-record point scoring streak to 30 games in the Nordiques’ 5-4 win at Los Angeles. Sundin scored 21 goals, 25 assists for a total of 46 points during the 30 game streak.

December 11, 1977    Tom Bladon set an NHL record for most points in a game by a defenseman. His 8 points (4 goals & 4 assists) led Philadelphia to an 11-1 win over the Cleveland Barons. Bladon also set a record by going +10.

December 11, 2000    Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux officially announced that he was coming out of retirement to return to playing for the Penguins.

December 12, 1971    Chicago’s Bobby Hull became the fifth player in NHL history to score 1,000 career points. His milestone point was an assist in his 909th game, a 5-3 Black Hawks’ win over the Minnesota North Stars.

December 13, 1987    Calgary’s Joe Nieuwendyk became the first NHL rookie since Cully Wilson (Toronto 1919-20) to score four goals twice in his first season, in a 7-1 Flames in at Buffalo.

December 14, 2000    Rob Blake scored his first career hat trick and added two assists for his first five-point game in the Kings 5-5 tie against the visiting New York Rangers.

December 15, 1988    Mario Lemieux had a goal and four assists in Pittsburgh’s 8-2 win over the Islanders to become the Penguins’ all-time leader in career assists, breaking the old mark of 349 set by Syl Apps. It came in Lemieux’s 321st NHL game.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Los Angeles
2. New Jersey
3. Pittsburgh
4. Washington
5. Buffalo

Bottom 5

30. Carolina
29. Philadelphia
28. Columbus
27. Tampa Bay
26. Florida

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks have points in the last 5 games now. Unfortunately 3 of those were overtime losses in games they could have and should have won. So because they are only gaining 1 point, and since the teams they lose to are in the same conference, they really don’t gain much.

So tell me if you heard this before, the Ducks take a 2 goal lead into the 3^rd period and manage to lose anyway. Of course you have and the Ducks manage to do it again to the Red Wings. It’s a shame because they really owned the first 2 periods of play. Of course when you take 10 penalties it’s hard to win games. Some of the calls were typical lame calls by the ref, like the Parros interference and some of the holding calls, but that’s life. Sexton scored again and with his emergence the Ducks now have three players (Perry, Ryan, Sexton) that look like they just graduated from high school. They are all shy and quiet in post game interviews too. The Red Wings won it in overtime.

The Ducks jumped out to a 2 goal lead against the Blue Jackets and this time changed it up a bit and instead of giving up a goal in the 3^rd, they give it up in the last minute of the 2^nd period. However, the Ducks actually gave up none in the 3^rd and scored one themselves. Sexton scored again to up his goal streak to 3 games in a row. The Selanne injury seems like a blessing in disguise now. If he never would have went down, Sexton would never have been called up. Lupul is still injured too. I think when Selanne gets back he should go on the top line with Perry and Getzlaf. Ryan and Sexton should stay together with Koivu.

As the shoppers’ dust settles on another Black Friday, the dust is settling for injuries around the league.

We have already seen big names missing time, and it seems every day we check the headlines as another NHL player is out for an extended period of time. 

In this, an Olympic year, you start to wonder if people are starting to just coast to make it to their respective countries’ rosters and wait until after the Olympic break to really start playing. 

Now on to the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick or the top three stories I am watching this week.

Will The Real Steve Mason Show Up?

Talk about your sophomore slumps, as last year’s Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason has fallen off the map.  The 21-year-old Blue Jackets net minder is now ranked 44th in save percentage (.890) and 45th in goals against (3.46). 

The NHL goalie is a crazy character; very few stay relevant for an extended period; that is a reason to marvel at Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo right now. 

Mason’s coach, Ken Hitchcock, had the best quote about the second-year player this week, “Just because a guy’s a second-year player, it doesn’t mean he’s a better player yet.”

The Blue Jackets are still in the thick of things and a good team but will not make an impact without the services of their franchise goalie. 

We all have to remember that this kid is only 21 years young and made the rare move right from juniors to the NHL before we put him in the Jim Carey category.

With four games this week, I will be watching to see which Steve Mason will show up.

Kovalchuk Conundrum:  

The Thrashers keep winning, and Ilya Kovalchuk keeps scoring.  The trade deadline is far away right now, and first comes his Olympic run for the Russian squad, but I have to keep my eye on this situation. 

Similar to the Marian Hossa problem of not signing a contract extension, the Thrashers were forced to trade their franchise player in February 2008.  The Penguins were the benefactor of that move and went on to the Stanley Cup Finals. 

The problem this year is the Thrashers are a winning team and it’s evident they depend heavily on Kovalchuk’s offensive prowess. 

Atlanta this season is 10-4-3 with the winger in the lineup; his stats are a staggering 14 goals and 24 points in those 17 games.

I will be keeping my eye on this situation all of December, as in those 15 games ahead could be a deciding factor on not only the Thrashers’ playoff hopes but the Stanley Cup run of another team.   

Games Of The Week:  

With two big returns this week, I had to highlight both of them in the Games of the Week. The first day of December matches up Dany Heatley against the Senators. 

Although the game is in San Jose so he won’t feel the same wrath of Ottawa, it will be interesting to see how the team he refused to play for will treat the talented scoring winger. 

The move has seemed to work for both teams so far, as Heatley (18 goals) has teamed up with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau for a dominant line. 

Milan Michalek, the main piece coming back to the Senators, leads the team with 13 goals, while Jonathan Cheechoo has chipped in filling the checking line. 

The other return is Marian Hossa back to Pittsburgh on Saturday.  You don’t think the Penguins organization will have Hossa walk down a hallway of them hoisting the cup, maybe even a picture of him sitting watching it.

Before Hossa became the $62.8 million man, he jumped the Crosby ship and spurned the Penguins for a “greater” chance to win a cup with the team that beat them in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

You heard the reaction he got throughout last year’s finals; expect the same on Saturday.

Nearing the quarter mark of the hockey season is a good time to pass out some early awards, while still keeping an eye on the biggest storylines in the sport.

So far, my MVP is Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar who, whose high marks in goals and points scored is leading his team to surprising, but early on season playoff talk.

Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller is a big reason his team is leading the division. The best in the league in Goals Against Average (GAA) (1.77), save percentage (0.939) and tied for lead with 12 wins, Miller is a safe shot for best goalie.  

Best defenseman goes to the Philadelphia Flyers as-good-as-advertised Chris Pronger, who is fourth among defensemen scoring with 17 points and an amazing +13 while playing a league high 27:01 minutes a game. 

Awards aside, let’s get to the Hat Trick —or the three storylines I am following this week in the hockey world.

1) Win, Lose or Draw

From the highs of the New Jersey Devils, who have won eight games in a row, to the lows of the Carolina Hurricanes dropping 12 in a row, the rest of the season might not be much different for these two. Between the Zachs (Parise and Zajac) and rookie Niclas Bergfors, each player on the line has eight points in the last seven games, making the Devils as hot as their mascot suggests.

But a healthy Martin Brodeur and an improving Patrik Elias could makes things even scarier for their opponents. Brodeur has a 1.48 GAA and .942 save percentage in the last seven games, and it’s just a matter of time for Elias to get going, though he has yet to gain a point in the four games since returning from injury.

The woeful Hurricanes are a team devastated by injuries. With the losses of top flight goalie Cam Ward and top line center Eric Staal, Carolina is relying on the likes of Manny Legace in net. How has this team gone from Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season to the bottom of the NHL? 

Though the revolving door to the infirmary has not helped, every team is dealing with injuries. But their depth has to be called into question. Banking on Eric Cole (one goal), Chad Larose (0 goals) and Sergei Samsonov (two goals) to be top line scorers was a mistake. Having a defense based around offensive defensemen Joni Pitkanen (-12) and Joe Corvo (-9) was another one. Although the Hurricanes finally won on Sunday, I will be watching these two teams going in opposite directions

2) AHL Report:  

Here at Pucking Awesome, we also keep you up to date with what is happening on the farm teams. The two hottest teams in the AHL are the Rochester Americans (13-2-1) and the Texas Stars (11-2-2). The Florida Panthers-affiliate Americans are led by 22-year-old goalie Alexander Salak. The Czech rookie is 10-1-0, while being near the top in all goalie categories. 

The Dallas Stars-affiliates have given up only 31 goals in 17 games this season. The goalie tandems of Matt Climie and Brett Krahn have shut opponents down with a 1.85 and 1.38 GAA respectively.

3) Game of the Week: Bruins at Sabres, Friday

Northeast division rivals Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres will face off this week for the second time this season. The first matchup went to the defending division winners as the Bruins defeated Jhonas Enroth in his NHL debut, 4-2. This time around the goal-starved Bruins will most likely be facing Ryan Miller, and that is not a good combination for Boston who has been shut out three times this season.

Milan Lucic could return to the Bruins this week, but he has been told he can’t fight, making this division rivalry game a good measuring stick for him.

On this Veterans Day, I first want to send a thank you to all those serving to defend our country. There has been some major defending of nets this season, but not the usual suspects. The Top Three in GAA are Canucks Andrew Raycroft, Sabres Ryan Miller, and Lightning Antero Niittymaki, and we can’t forgot how good Craig Anderson has been for the Avalanche. Now let’s delve into the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick, or the Top Three things I am watching for this week.

1.)  Atlantic Division Dominance  

The Atlantic Division has had four playoff teams for three straight seasons, can they have five this postseason? The defending champion Penguins don’t look like they have a Stanley Cup hangover, and are performing well without Malkin, and Gonchar. The Flyers have finally found a scoring grove as they are near the top of the league in goals per game, and power play percentage. 

The Devils are playing Jaques Lemaire hockey, and get back top-scorer Patrik Elias. The Rangers look rejuvenated with Gaborik, Prospal, and the young defensemen, and by the way they still have, Henrik Lundqvist. Watch out for the Islanders also, after a tough start to the season the Youngblood line (Tavares, Okposo, and Moulson) have combined for 32 points in first 16 games. I will be watching this tough division all season, and predict at least four will be playing in the second season.

2.)  Hall Opens Up  

On Monday, the Hockey Hall of Fame opens the door to five more members. Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, and Steve Yzerman are elected in the player category, and Lou Lamoriello elected in the builders category. A great class for sure, with two pillars of American hockey, all having over 1,000 points, three having over 600-goals, and of course the architect of a dynasty. 

Congrats to those players, and their families, and I am looking forward to the debate of the class of 2010, which will involve the controversial discussion of Eric Lindros, and his place in the Hall.

 3.)  Game of the Week

Roberto Luongo returns: Roberto Luongo is set to return this week from a rib injury, he was slated to come back versus the Blues in the Canucks first game this week Tuesday in St Louis, but the flu has disrupted that plan. Whenever the all-world goalie reappears, it will be a big day for Vancouver.  Andre Raycroft has done a solid job with a 4-1 record, a 1.71 GAA ,and 0.935 save percentage in the five games starting in place of Luongo, but the Stanley Cup chances hinge on Bobby Lou being healthy.

Head shots have been in the hockey news as much as that hoax of a flying balloon, but unlike Falcon’s attempt to trick America, the NHL is not getting tricked on what is and is not a suspension. 

Let me start of my rant by saying that I do not condone intentionally hurting a person, but this sport is a violent one built on aggression and playing physical.  Scott Stevens made a living by hitting players coming across the middle with their head down, and this is why I agree that the NHL got it right this week.

With their decision to suspend Toumo Ruutu for his late, from-behind hit on Darcy Tucker and for not suspending Mike Richards for his open ice hit on David Booth.   It is always a scary moment in sports to see the stretcher be brought onto the ice and have a player down and motionless, but folks this is their profession. 

With that I move to the Pucking Awesome Hat Trick, or the top three things I am watching for this week.

Kings Ransom:  

Can anyone name the leading scorer in the league?  Nope not that crazy Russian in our nation’s Capital, but the slick moving Slovenian playing in sunny Los Angeles, Anze Kopitar.  This former first-round pick has been lighting up the scoreboard for the upstart Kings. 

The first ever Slovenian to play in the NHL made an immediate impact scoring two goals in his first NHL game and now is showing critics he is worth the big time seven-year, $47.6-million contract extension he signed before last season. 

With two games this week against the Sharks and Canucks I will be watching this talented player face two of the league’s premier goalies.

Maple Leafs vs. The League:  

The good news is after a week with one game, the Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action with four chances to win their first game of the season.  Maybe even better news is that all these games are away from the rabid fans who are clamoring for that sweet taste of victory. 

So I am alerting all the Ducks, Starts, Sabres and Canadiens fans, because I will be watching for the Leafs to finally win one of these games.   

Game of The Week:  

Red Wings vs. Canucks—Two power house teams struggling to find an identity early square off Tuesday.  I still think both of these teams will be near the top of the standings when all is said and done, but injuries are starting to take a toll on both of these talented squads. 

They are both still shooting at a blistering pace with the Canucks ranked second with 34.4 shots per game and the Red Wings sixth with 32.3 shots per game, but both teams are giving up a good amount of goals five on five. 

In this game both teams will be looking to make a statement to the league that they are not panicking and everything will be fine for this pre-season favorite.  The loser of this game will still be searching for answers on how to solve the problem of playing without important players.

Welcome to the inaugural column of Between the Pipes, a weekly feature giving you quotes, top fights, who or what is hot and not, stats, goalie spotlight, and many other information from around the league. What an opening week it has been so far.

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

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

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

Goalie Spotlight

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

Craig Anderson – Colorado Avalanche

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

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

Fights of the Week

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

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

Donald Brashear vs. Eric Godard

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

Craig Conroy vs. Sam Gagner

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

Andrew Alberts vs. Shawn Thornton

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

Goat of the Week

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

Tweet of the Week

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

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

Things I like

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

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

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

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

Things I don’t

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

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

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

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

Ducks Watch (My team)

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

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

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