Is the Central Division the best division? – For awhile most people thought the Atlantic was the best division in the NHL. For three consecutive seasons they had four teams who made the playoffs, the only division recently to accomplish that. They just missed out on sending four again last season. They have also sent the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup representative three seasons in a row. However the Central Division has also sent the Western Conference Stanley Cup representative the past three seasons as well. (Whenever you feel like playing hockey other divisions, let us know.) This season the Central Division is outperforming the Atlantic by far. If the playoffs started today, the Atlantic would only send in two teams while the Central would send in four teams. No team in the Central Division has a losing record while the Atlantic boasts two teams (the Islanders and Devils) that seem to be falling off the cliff. It’s been so competitive that the Blue Jackets, who are off to their best start in franchise history at 8-4 were only in 3^rd place.

Of course the biggest rise in the Central division is none other than the St. Louis Blues. The Blues rather quietly have the NHL’s best record. They have also allowed the fewest goals in the league. This can mostly be attributed to one thing, Jaroslav Halak. Halak was a relative steal, though who knows how how Ian Schultz or Lars Eller will tun out, for the Blues who were looking to upgrade over goalie Steve Mason. Halak already has three shutouts and is tied with Tim Thomas for the league lead. But Halak’s success isn’t really that much of a surprise, given his playoff heroics last season. The Blues have been stockpiling young talent over the past few seasons. The Blues are the 3^rd youngest team in the league and they only have four players with over five years of NHL experience. Former 1^st rounders T.J Oshie and David Perron are starting to break out and lead the Blues. Veteran guys such as Matt D’Agostini and Alex Steen are on pace for career years. Defensively former 1^st overall 2006 pick Erik Johnson and Barrett Jackman are a force to be reckon with. Before he was injured, Jackman was averaging three blocked shots a game. The Blues have been hovering around 90 points the past two seasons and the continued development of their younger players coupled with the acquisition of Halak have made them into legit contenders.

Goalie Spotlight

Mathieu Garon – Columbus Blue Jackets

Perusing the goalie statistical league leaders you will find such familiar names as Tim Thomas and Jaroslav Halak. You will also find somebody by the name of Mathieu Garon sandwiched between them. Not that well known of a player, I figured I’d try and find out a little about him.

In 1996 The Montreal Canadiens drafted Garon 44^th overall with a chance of maybe stepping in for the newly traded Patrick Roy. That never really came to pass as Garon didn’t even suit up for the Canadiens until the 2000-01 season. Before that season he spent the majority of his time playing in the AHL for the Fredericton Canadiens, Quebec Citadelles, Hamilton Bulldogs, and Manchester Monarchs. The Fredericton Canadiens and Quebec Citadelles are now defunct. He played in 43 games for the Canadiens over a four year period. His beast season was in 2002-03 but he only played in eight games. He was then traded to the Kings with a 3^rd round pick for Radek Bonk and Cristobal Huet. He actually became the starter in Los Angeles for the first time. He posted a 3.22 GAA, a .894 SV% and 4 shutouts. The next season he split time mostly with Sean Burke and Dan Cloutier.

Garon then left for the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent. He became the starter over Dwayne Roloson but then injured his ankle late in the 2007-08 season. He was however the top shutout goalie in the league with a perfect 10-0 record. The following season Garon did not play as much and his numbers slipped from the previous season. Garon was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in early 2009. Garon only played in four games for the Penguins and one playoff game, which was Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals when the Penguins were blown out 5-0 by the Red Wings. He then signed a two year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2009. Last season he mostly backed up Steve Mason. This season with Mason struggling Garon has been able to see equal time. He is so far 4-1 with 2 shutouts and a 1.28 GAA and .952 SV%. He is second in the league in shutouts, GAA and SV%.

Garon is part of the reason why the Blue Jackets were off to their best start in franchise history. If Mason continues to struggle, Garon will be called upon more to try and help lead the Blue Jackets to only their second playoff berth ever. Who knows, maybe the soon to be free agent Garon may have finally found a home in Columbus.

Fights of the Week

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

Brandon Prust vs. Daniel Carcillo

This one starts off kind of slow but it gets better.

George Parros vs. Frazer McLaren

Somewhat decent fight. It’s the first fight from Parros since he shaved his mustache for charity. Though the mustache is about 1/3 of way back now.

Goat of the Week

Bobby Ryan – Anaheim Ducks

Ryan attempted to clear the Anaheim zone but instead passed it right to Patrick Hornqvist who threaded to Steve Sullivan for the 2^nd Predators goal. Ryan said afterward about the play “I was just trying to find a place to hide on the bench at that point.” That sounds about right Bobby.

Things I like

1. After producing only one assist in his first seven games, Mike Green has been on fire. He currently has a six game point streak and he had a four game goal streak. Better yet is that he only has a negative +/- in one of those games.

2. For a guy who is 40 years old and has been contemplating retiring for the last several seasons Teemu Selanne can just flat out play. He is currently tied for 4^th in the league in scoring and tied for 2^nd in power play goals with four. Selanne has showed that not only he can still produce at his age but he can still produce at an elite level. Here’s hoping he plays another year or two.

3. Speaking of streaks and older players, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsuyk each have a nine game point streak currently. The Red Wings are also 7-2 in that span. Lidstrom the nineteen year veteran, who is in the 40 year old club with Selanne, has shown that he can also still perform at a high level. He is the top scoring defenseman in the league and tied for 2^nd overall in assists.

4. Steven Stamkos (I don’t need to write anything else)

Things I don’t

1. This week I had the chance to watch my first Pittsburgh Penguins game with their home announcers on FSN. All I can say is egad. Obviously announcers are bias when doing their home team telecasts but Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey go above and beyond the normal bias. Also half the time it’s like they are watching a completely different game. I guess many people have disliked them for some time. I can’t say that I blame them.

2. The Toronto Maple Leafs started out on fire and off to one of their best starts in some time. Now they just seem lost and confused. Worse it seems like they couldn’t score a goal if their life depended on it. In the past six games the Leafs have been shut out three times. After producing seven goals in eight games, Phil Kessel has produced no points in the past six games. Coincidence? I think not.

3. When the Bruins faced the Blues this week, I was really hoping it would pit the two hottest goalies in the league of Tim Thomas and Jaroslav Halak against each other. Unfortunately it was not to be as Rask started. While I realize that Thomas was pulled against the Caps in the last game, it was the Caps after all. It was still a good game regardless but these two teams won’t face each other again this season unless it’s in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Stat Line of the Week

11/06/10 Chicago 5 vs. Atlanta 4

It’s been a strange year so far for the Blackhawks but on this night the dynamic duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane combined for all of the Blackhawks goals to lead the hawks to a win over a few of their former teammates. Toews also had one of the two shootout goals for the Hawks with a nifty little move.

Did You Know?

The most games a team has been consecutively been shutout is eight set by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1929. The Maple Leafs have quite a few games to go if they hope to reach that dubious distinction. That same Blackhawks team was also shutout the most for one season. They were shutout a total of 20 times in the 1928-29 season.

Numbers, Numbers

50 – Goals scored by the defending champion Blackhawks so far

51 – Goals scored against the Blackhawks so far

6 – Number of home wins for both the Blues and the Kings with no loses

0 – Home wins for New Jersey

7 – Conservative wins by the Blues

7 – Consecutive loses by the Islanders

700 – Career points for Saku Koivu

76 – Steven Stamkos current goal pace

Quotes of the Week

“I don’t dislike them, I think they’re entertaining. I just wish I was better at them.”

- Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who is 1-3 in shootouts as a Leaf.

“We went into their building (in Philadelphia last Saturday), they beat us 6-1 and we got embarrassed. It’s been a downfall since then.”

- Isles defenseman James Wisniewski, before the Isles losing streak was extended to seven games with a 2-1 loss Saturday against the Flyers.

Though the Islanders downfall started before that game because they had already lost three games in a row prior to that Flyers loss.

Zenon Konopka had his own take own the Flyers rivalry.

“There’s no good blood between us, that’s for sure,” Konopka told Newsday. “There won’t be Christmas cards exchanged on that end of the hallway.”

This Week in Hockey History

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

November 04, 1956 Jacques Plante of the Canadiens completed a perfect weekend, with his second straight shutout over Chicago, a 1-0 win (following a 6-0 victory the day before). It was Plante’s 21st career shutout.

November 05, 2000 Doug Weight tied a career high with four assists as the Oilers picked up their 800 victory in franchise history, with a 4-2 win against the Blue Jackets at Columbus.

November 06, 1988 Wayne Gretzky became the third player in NHL history to score 1,700 points. He got two goals and an assist in career game #711 as the Kings won 5-3 over the Blackhawks at Chicago. Mark Fitzpatrick started and won his first NHL game.

November 07, 1968 St. Louis Blues Red Berenson scored six goals (for his first career hat trick) & an assist in an 8-0 win over the visiting Flyers. It was the NHL’s first six goal game since Detroit’s Syd Howe did it in 1944. Jacques Plante recorded the shutout.

November 08, 1989 Calgary’s Al MacInnis became the Flames all time leader in assists when he recorded #337 in a 5-4 win at Los Angeles. MacInnis replaced Guy Chouinard (336) and Paul Reinhart (335). MacInnis had three assists in the game.

November 09, 2000 Joe Sakic tied the Avalanche franchise mark for career assists, when he picked up his 668th with the team in a 3-3 tie against the St. Louis Blues. Sakic tied the record set by Peter Stastny (when the team was in Quebec City).

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. St. Louis

2. Los Angeles

3. Washington

4. Philadelphia

5. Boston

Bottom 5

30. N.Y Islanders

29. Toronto

28. Buffalo

27. Edmonton

26. New Jersey

Marian Hossa leads the league in points (nine) and tied for the league lead with five goals, as he seems primed to become the number one option in a star-laden lineup.

Who is in panic mode and who should have some patience is the theme of this week’s Pucking Awesome Hat Trick, or the top three stories I am watching this week.

Down On the Devils:

My preseason pick to win the Atlantic Division has not looked anything like a contender in the first week of the season.

The team that spent so much money and effort on signing the offensive talent of Ilya Kovalchuck is last in the league with 1.67 goals per game.

The team that has arguably the best goalie ever to lace them up is giving up 3.50 goals per game, good for 27^th in the league.

The 1-4-1 is the worst start for the franchise in the 27 years, and they are yet to win at home.

Their prized offseason acquisition, Anton Volcenkov, broke his nose in his second game in red and black. It got so bad for the cap strapped Devils that they only dressed 15 players in their third game of the season.

Will this continue for the defending Atlantic Division champions? My best guess is not likely.

This is a team with a new coach this season and already some major injuries to the back line. Rookie head coach John MacLean has already held closed door meetings and chew out sessions at practice to let the club know that this is unacceptable.

You have to remember that the season is a long one and ultimately if they start to get healthy and get production out of their top scorers they will be fine.

If not, then the Ilya Kovalchuck sweepstakes was all for naught.

Who Are These Leafs?

The biggest surprise of the first week has been the torrid play of the much improved Toronto Maple Leafs. Much has been made of their 4-0 start and how that is a polar opposite of last year’s 1-7-5 start.

Improved defensive play and clutch scoring has been the key to such a improved start.

At the middle of it all is the man that cost them Seguin, as Phil Kessel has six points and two game winning goals already this season.

Also a big part of the offensive success goes to the development of Clarke MacArthur. The player that was let go of two organizations last season has found a home in Toronto and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, MacArthur became the first Leaf ever to score in his first four games.

Their best non move of the offseason was keeping Tomas Kaberle on the roster. The veteran has shown he still has something left to give with three helpers and a plus-3 while playing over 24 minutes per game and acting as a stabilizing force for his young partner Luke Schenn. All three of his assist have come while playing on the Leafs top power play.

Can this continue? Can the Leafs become the latest team in the NHL parity party to go from playoff obscurity to a Cup contender?

My gut feeling is that this team has some staying power and should stay in the playoff picture the entire season.

Bobby Lou, Where Are You?

So all that talk that relinquishing captaincy will help Roberto Luongo focus on having a career year in his quest for the Cup is now gone.

The 31-year-old is off to another slow start by giving up 10 goals in his first four starts and a 1-2-1 record.

Luongo has saved 115 of the 125 shots he has faced including a horrible 15 saves on 19 shots loss to the Kings on Friday.

This start should not surprise anyone, as in his 11-year NHL career Luongo has notoriously been a slow starter. In 92 career games in October, Bobby Lou has a 38-45-6-3 record with a 2.56 GAA and .917 save percentage; in contrast, look at his March career numbers: 111 games with a 57-40-8-5 record—you would see that he usually saves his best for last.

The team in front of him has not been helping, as they are giving up 31.6 shots per game and they have been shorthanded 25 times.

Some good news for Vancouver is that top prospect Corey Schneider came out with a strong performance in a 32-save win over the Hurricanes Sunday night; the presence of Schneider should allow Luongo not play his 70 games and keep him fresh for his usually hot finish towards the playoffs.

I am not worried about Bobby Lou but good luck trying to tell that to the rabid fans in British Columbia.

Hockey is back (in Edmonton) – There are two ways to build a long term successfully team in any sport. Drafting well in the lower rounds and/or trading down to acquire more picks as you continually make the playoffs as the Red Wings do and the New England Patriots do in the NFL. These teams have to draft really well because since they generally make the playoffs, they don’t receive high draft picks. The other way is to tank for a bit and stockpile high 1st round draft choices. O wait that’s right, teams don’t tank on purpose *wink*. This would be the Penguins method and now the Oilers method. In fairness to the Oilers, they didn’t get four years in a row of a number one or number two selections like the Penguins did.

Either way there hasn’t been this much excitement in Edmonton Alberta since a young doey eyed player graced the number 99 jersey back in 1978. For the home opener in Rexall Place Thursday, the crowd was rocking like a playoff game. Magnus Paajarvi (10), Taylor Hall (1) and Jordan Eberle (22) are three young former 1^st round draft picks that are looking to help return the Oilers back to respectability. Gretzky wasn’t even playing for the Oilers anymore when they were all born. Khabibulin, the 37 year old 16 year veteran, is the oldest on the team but he’s been playing like he was 27 again. Through two games he has a shutout and a blistering 9.69 SV%. Eberle is off to the best start of the young bunch, with two electrifying goals. Hall has one assist and Paajarvi has yet to produce a point but it’s still early. It’s a total team effort though with Shawn Horcoff, Sam Gagner, Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky all relative veterans chipping in. Ryan Whitney acquired in the trade with Lubomir Visnovsky has fit in even better than the Oilers had probably hoped. He has two assists thus far. The Oilers hope to repeat the Colorado Avalanche’s success last year by going from last place in the conference to making the playoffs the following year.

Goalie Spotlight

Semyon Varlamov – Washington Capitals

Varlamov began playing goalie at the age of eight in Kuybyshev Russia. He was the dominant teenage goalie in various leagues before he made his way to the Lokomotiv Yaroslav junior farm club. Varlamov was then drafted with the 23^rd overall pick in the 2006 draft by the Capitals. He stayed in Russia leading Lokomotiv Yaroslav to the Russian Superleague Finals in 2008. At that time the Russian SuperLeague was the premier professional league in Russia. It has since disbanded and the KHL is now the premier league.

When he came to North America Varlamov played for the Capitals affiliate Hershey Bears. He played in six games for the Capitals during the 2008-09 season winning four and losing one game in overtime. He was named the star of the game in his debut, a 2-1 victory of the Canadiens. He was the 3^rd goalie until backup Brent Johnson had a hip injury. When the playoffs came around, Varlamov saw action when Jose Theodore was pulled after allowing four goals. Varlamov remained the starter posting respectable numbers and two shutouts as he help lead the Capitals to the second round. Ironically he was pulled himself in favor of Theodore after giving up four goals in Game 7 against the eventual champion Penguins.

The next season Theodore was the starter but it was widely expected that Varlamov would end up wining it by season end. Unfortunately an injury derailed that and Varlamov had to rehab back in Hershey when he was healthy. He rejoined the club for the playoff stretch run and ended up making most of the playoff starts. Varlamov played well in last years 1^st round exit to the Canadiens. But you wouldn’t know it because his counterpart Jaroslav Halak was stopping 40+ shots a game. Now with Jose Theodore gone, Varlamov is the man in net. He is also tasked, like the rest of the Capitals, with the seemingly daunting task of getting past the 2^nd round of the playoffs. He was also the 3^rd goalie selected for the 2010 Russian Olympic team. Currently Varlamov is injured but he is expected to regain his stating position within the next week or so. The Capitals hope that he can bounce back and even improve his still maturing skills.

Fights of the Week

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

Raitis Ivanans vs. Steve MacIntyre

We already have blood on the first day of the season. Ivanans knocks out MacIntyre and leaves him bloody and needing assistance to get off the ice.

Ilya Kovalchuk vs. Mike Green

Yes these two actually fought and for pure comical reasons, this fight was great.

Goat of the Week

Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins

Letang’s lazy and errant pass never made it to intended recipient Paul Martin, Claude Giroux saw to that. The goal ended up being the Game winner.

Things I like

1. Don Cherry being back and telling it like it is, complete with loud plaid suit and a western daffy duck tie. Cherry was spot on with the whole Carey Price thing and I will paraphrase what he said. Price will be a good goalie but not in Montreal, where he gets booed for the littlest thing, even when it is not his fault. As for Halak, he single handedly won two playoffs series, his jersey was a hot number, fans made stop signs with his name on it and he was beloved. The Canadiens traded him away for practically nothing. More than likely, I believe it will come back to haunt them for a long time.

2. Few said it could be done and many questioned some of Brian Burke’s moves but he has helped to bring the Maple Leafs back to respectability. Jean-Sebastien Giguere is having a career revival in Toronto. Giguere said after the 1^st game with a laugh, “I’m not that old, people.” We’d have to agree with you there. Phil Kessel is leading the Leafs as expected but they are also getting help from unlikely sources like Clarke MacArthur. The true test for the Maple Leafs happens when the Leafs travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins tonight.

3. Cam Fowler making his debut against his hometown Red Wings for the Ducks. The Ducks got manhandled 4-0 but it wasn’t Fowler’s fault. The eighteen year old 12^th overall section of the 2010 draft racked up 21:20 minutes in his first game with 5 blocked shots and a +/- of 0. Its unlikely Fowler will be sent down to the minors so Fowler will be a key component in the Ducks season this year and for the next decade. He did make a costly turnover in his 3^rd game that led to a short handed goal but the future is bright for Fowler on a team that sorely needs defensive help.

4. James Wisniewski’s “inappropriate” gesture to Sean Avery. Personally I found it funny and I believe that hockey players are the most colorful athletes around. The ability to almost do what you want and not really get penalized (or just receive a minor) for it, is what makes hockey very unique. Wiz ended up getting suspended two games for it anyway. I think it’s a bit harsh since there are much worse offenses that don’t receive a suspension.

Things I don’t

1. Ondrej Pavelec collapsing on the ice just two minutes into the Thrashes vs. Capitals game. It is always a scary scene to watch any athlete collapse unprovoked. Pavelec regained consciousness later in the ambulance. The current cause is a fainting spell but more tests will be done as a precaution.

2. The Ducks “top” line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan have three Olympic medals and over 25 million in salary combined. However neither has produced any points so far through three games and they have a combined +/- of -12. Also new captain Getzlaf doesn’t seem to be keeping his composure or leading very well. In fairness the whole team, coach staffing and upper management deserve a huge F thus far for the product they have put on the ice.

3. I like fighting and I think it has a place in the game and that players should be able to defend themselves or retaliate. What I don’t like is when games get out of hand on scoreboard turn into UFC on ice. The Ducks against the Blues and to a lesser extent against the Redwings and the Capitals against Devils were games that were blowouts that basically just turned into fights in the 3^rd period. Obviously it’s frustrating to be down by four or so goals in a game but the NHL needs to implement a rule that discourages players from trying to make a statement with their fists when they can’t make it with their stick. I’m thinking a one game suspension for any player involved would do the trick.

Stat Line of the Week

10/09/10 N.Y Rangers 6 vs. Buffalo 3

Rookie Derek Stepan in his first game recorded a hat trick on only three shots. He became the first to do it in his debut since Dallas’ Fabian Brunnstrom on Oct. 15, 2008. The feat was made all the more impressive coming against All World goalie Ryan Miller.

Did You Know?

As the Ducks pile up PIM at an alarming rate, did you know the most PIM for one game is 419 set by the Ottawa Senators vs. the Philadelphia Flyers on March 5^th 2004. 409 of those minutes came in the final 11 minutes of the game. By the end of the game, 20 players had been ejected for their role in the brawl, leaving a total of five players left in the game. Officials took about 90 minutes to sort out all of the penalties that each team had received in the final brawl.

Numbers, Numbers

5 – PIM for Pavel Datsyuk in his first game

18 – PIM for Datsyuk in 80 games in the 2009-10 season

2 – Number of goals scored thus far by the Anaheim Ducks, the lowest in the league

145 – PIM for the Ducks, the league leaders by a wide margin

2 – Games in a row with a too many men on the ice penalty for the Ducks. Not the best way to start a season.

11 – Years since the last time the Maple Leafs started out 2-0

Carey Price vs. Jaroslav Halak

As if Carey Price doesn’t get roasted enough in the Montreal media, I thought I would give him some extra scrutiny in this column. This season we will see how Price does for the week and compare his numbers to Halak, the guy Montreal ran out of town because they still think Price is their guy. Who knows he still might be.

Halak has the edge so far with a .955 SV%, 0.99 GAA and 2 wins. Price has .919 SV%, 2.52 GAA and a 1-1 record. Price has also faced 18 more shots and he was able to beat the Penguins though game 2 of the regular season is much different than round 2 of the postseason.

This Week in Hockey History

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

October 07, 2001 Florida Panthers’ goaltender Roberto Luongo recorded his 7th career shutout in a 5-0 win against the Lightning at Tampa Bay.

October 08, 2001 Alexander Mogilny scored :53 seconds into the game then added another to give him 400 goals in his NHL career, as the Maple Leafs won 6-1 against the visiting Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

October 09, 1997 New York Rangers became the first team in NHL history to tie their first four games of the season when they battled to a 1-1 draw against the Flames, at Calgary.

October 10, 1973 Montreal rookie Bob Gainey played in his first NHL game, when the Canadiens beat the North Stars 5-2, in their 1973-74 season opener, in Minnesota. The victory extended the Canadiens’ opening night undefeated streak to 11 straight games (8-0-3).

October 11, 2000 Washington’s Adam Oates became the 29th player in NHL history to record 1,200 career NHL points, when he picked up an assist in a 3-3 Capitals tie against the Atlanta Thrashers.

October 12, 1985 Charlie Simmer scored his 6th career hat trick (and his first with Boston) and added an assist as the Bruins extended their road undefeated streak against the Red Wings to 10 straight games (7-0-3) with a 9-2 win, at Detroit.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. Toronto
2. Detroit
3. St. Louis
4. Edmonton
5. Philadelphia

Bottom 5

30. Anaheim
29. Ottawa
28. New Jersey
27. Minnesota
26. Florida

I’ll leave you with my favorite comic strip talking about hockey.

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.

Vancouver Canucks 3^rd jersey – It took me awhile, yes sad I know, to figure out that was a hockey stick. But honestly what is the point? The other jerseys are fine and this is a just a stick coming out of an oval, it just looks dumb. Some of you may rip me because it’s a pure old school classic hockey. Rip me anyway I don’t like it.

Anaheim Ducks jersey logo – I like the old mighty ducks logo not the name “mighty ducks”, ducks is fine. It’s weird though because without the mighty in the title you just think of a regular duck. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I think of when I think of Anaheim or Southern California is not a duck. Perhaps Donald Duck eventually. At first I thought the logo was lame then I realized the “D” in Ducks was a webbed duck’s foot then I came to the conclusion, it’s still lame.

New York Islanders jersey – I have always hated the logo and the colors, it’s hard to imagine they have had the same logo for 37 years. Change it already.

Quebec Nordiques jersey and logo – One of the worst in the NHL, thankfully we no longer have to look at them. The logo reminds me of Q-bert remember that game?

Pittsburgh Penguins old logo – Now don’t get me wrong I love the Penguins logo. This is when they changed it in 1992 to some kind of “new age/cutting edge” penguin. Thankfully they changed it back. Don’t mess with the penguin, Pittsburgh.

New York Rangers jersey and logo – Not really in love with the logo and the jerseys with the just the name Rangers written on them, it isn’t very imaginative. They could use a new name and a new logo.

Of course nobody tops the ugliness of all of the Pittsburgh Pirates jerseys. Just beyond hideous. The Pirates folded because of financial reasons. I bet they didn’t sell any jerseys either. Of course the hideousness didn’t end there. No folks they moved the team to Philadelphia and renamed them the Quakers. They of course also brought along the same graphic designer to give you the lovely jersey below.

Of course to be fair there were a lot of bad NHL jerseys in the 20’s and 30’s.

You can check them all out at nhluniforms.com.

Does anyone else have a jersey they hate that I missed?

Goalie Spotlight

None this week, I didn’t have time.

Fights of the Week

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

Wade Belak vs. Brian McGrattan

The 6^th fight between these two, I like McGrattan’s little jabs while holding Belak’s jersey. McGratten plays to the crowd afterwards.

Brad May vs. Krys Barch

Lots of punches in this one except most of them didn’t connect, also the 6^th bout between these too.

Goat of the Week

Nate Thompson – New York Islanders

Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers

Ivan Vishnevskiy – Dallas Stars

Lots of goats this week and that’s not a good thing.

Double goats in this clip, but Thompson is more of the goat than Lundqvist. Thompson misses a wide open net, and I do mean wide open. In his defense he only has 3 goals in 80 career NHL games, note sarcasm. That being said I think he will be a finalist for goat of the year. Lundqvist is a goat for playing that far out of the net. Its one thing to cut down the angle but that is way beyond a comfortable distance from the net, plus he never got the puck and he fell down.

Ivan Vishnevskiy’s play was just as bad as Thompson but he cost his team a chance to tie the game. Ivan had went back to play the puck off the board in his own zone and appeared to have control but he lost it and ended up scoring on his own empty net. I don’t think the Sharks need help to win games.

Things I like

1. Martin Brodeur breaking Terry Sawchuk’s shutout record against the defending champs no less. Brodeur took 1,032 games to get number 104, while Sawchuk had 103 shutouts in 971 games played. Brodeur also broke Patrick Roy’s most games played by a goalie record this week. Brodeur now has played in 1032 games (Roy 1029).

2. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing some decent hockey as of late and they might even contend for a final playoff spot before the season is done. In December so far they have gone 7-4-1. The Phil Kessel deal has worked out well too. Now all they need is a goaltender. No one in their three headed rotation has played all that well. They actually have the 2^nd worst team GAA ahead of only Carolina.

3. As someone mentioned last week I did forget about the Sedin twins, so I’ll mention them now. Henrik had his 9 game point streak snapped on the Dec. 20^th game against St. Louis. Daniel had his 8 game point streak snapped against Washington on Dec. 18^th. Since they’re twins and they started the streaks on the same day, it’s a shame the streaks couldn’t be snapped on the same day.

4. Sidney Crosby up until Brodeur’s record breaking shutout game had amassed 18 points in the past 9 games. He also was even or had a positive +/- in all but one of those games. Crosby also just recently got back line mate Chris Kunitz from injury.

Things I don’t

1. Hard to imagine a team playing worse than the Columbus Blue Jackets, okay besides Philadelphia. Their 2-10-5 record in their last 17 games is, I’m sure, not what the city of Columbus wanted for Christmas. Struggles abound everywhere for this team. See stat line of the week below.

2. In 11 games in December Philadelphia’s Mike Richards has only 5 points. Three of those five came in one game against the Islanders. One of the many reasons the Flyers are struggling.

3. After a seemingly good start the Islanders have settled back near the bottom like recent times. It’s a shame really but maybe it’s what they need long term so they can get higher draft picks. At least they have been drafting somewhat better the past few years. Tavares and Okposo, recent high picks, are bright spots.

Stat Line of the Week

12/19/09  Avalanche 5 vs. Blue Jackets 2

Last year’s Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason was pulled after less than five minutes into the game against the Avalanche. He gave up 3 goals on 7 shots for a whopping 42.35GAA. His replacement Mathieu Garon gave up a powerplay goal 4 minutes later.

Did You Know?

After Brodeur the next active player with the most shutouts is Chris Osgood with 50. Robert Luongo and Evgeni Nabokov are next after Osgood with 49 each. George Hainsworth is 3^rd on the career shutout list behind Brodeur and Sawchuk. Hainsworth is however the single season record holder with 22. Times have certainly changed since Hainsworth set that record in 1929.

Numbers, Numbers Martin Brodeur edition

0 – Shutouts against Nashville, San Jose and Edmonton the only three teams he hasn’t shutout yet

10 – Shutouts against the Islanders, the team he has shutout the most

44 – Career wins against Philadelphia the team he has beaten the most

6-1 – Record against Minnesota his highest winning percentage against one team

.878 – SV% against Vancouver his lowest, one of only two teams he is under a .900 SV%

.932 – SV% against Chicago and Montreal his highest

This Week in Hockey History

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

December 17, 1983 In his 352nd career NHL game, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scored a goal and added five assists to reach the 500 assist mark and the 800 career point mark in his NHL career. Oilers won 8-1 over the visiting Quebec Nordiques.

December 18, 1954 Montreal’s Maurice Richard became the first player in NHL history to score 400 career goals, when the Canadiens defeated the Black Hawks 4-2 at Chicago.

December 19, 1993 Goaltender Mike Richter set a franchise record by extending his unbeaten streak to 20 games (17-0-3) in the Rangers’ 6-3 win over the Senators in New York. Richter broke the team record of 19 games (14-0-5) set by Dave Kerr in 1939-40.

December 20, 1959 Chicago Black Hawks scored seven goals in the second period and won 7-4 against the Maple Leafs, at Chicago Stadium. Bobby Hull led the scoring with his second career hat trick and an assist.

December 21, 1937 Chicago’s Paul Thompson became the first player in NHL history to score a goal against his brother, when he scored on Bruins’ goalie Cecil “Tiny” Thompson, at 19:51 of the third period, in a 2-1 Black Hawks’ loss at Boston Garden.

December 22, 1979 Philadelphia Flyers set an NHL record by extending their unbeaten streak to 29 games (20-0-9), with a 5-2 win at Boston. Boston previously held the record of 28. Flyers extended their streak to 35 games, longest in sports history.

Rankings

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

Top 5

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

Bottom 5

30. Columbus
29. Philadelphia
28. NY Islanders
27. Tampa Bay
26. Dallas

Anaheim Ducks Watch

The Ducks got a hard fought win against the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. Sexton had some pretty passes setting up Ryan and Koivu for goals. Anaheim completely dominated the 1^st period as the Canucks only got two shots on goal. The Canucks converted one into a goal anyway. I didn’t see the Sharks game but the Ducks got crushed 4-1. It’s a shame really because the Ducks had been playing well as of late and this was a good measuring stick game. Turns out they still have a ways to go. Getzlaf scored goals in back to back for the first time this season. That seems kind of sad but Getzlaf is more of a setup man than a goal scorer, though he can score when need be. Against the Coyotes Getzlaf notched another goal bringing his goal scoring streak to three games. Bobby Ryan also extended his points streak to six games. The Ducks to a 3-1 lead into the 3^rd period and after Phoenix scored to take the game to 3-2, I started to get that feeling. But the Ducks didn’t give up anymore goals and Bobby Ryan iced in on the powerplay in the final minutes. Even better the Ducks moved out of last place. Congratulations Anaheim.

The last game this week for the Ducks was against the Avalanche on the road. A game I didn’t think they would win but maybe they could give it a good shot. The Ducks were down 2-0 in the 3^rd but still I watched. Good thing too, as the Avalanche decided to do what the Ducks usually do and gave up 4 unanswered goals in the 3^rd period. The last one was an empty netter though. The first goal for Anaheim was sort of questionable and even though Ryan was in the crease sort of preventing Craig Anderson from making a save, Kyle Quincey of the Avalanche I believe it was, was sprawled out in the crease which also would have prevented Anderson from making a play. The refs ruled it a goal. Sexton was next up for the Ducks tapping in a tough rebound. Getzlaf scored the game winner with about 26 seconds left. A great win for Anaheim and even though they were down 2-0 they actually dominated most of the game outshooting the Avs 42 to 17.

The Ducks are starting to gel and this could be one of those turnaround games for them. Even though they have won 4 of their past 5 they aren’t anywhere near playing to full potential. Hiller and Giguere can both play better and two of their top scores Selanne and Lupul are out. When they get back and if the goalies can raise their level this will be a tough team to beat in the second half of the season.

A Tale of Two Cities – Detroit and Pittsburgh will be forever linked in hockey lore because of playing each other in back to back Stanley Cup finals and having some of the highest ratings in some time in those games. This year both teams started out in opposite directions. They have now both reversed directions since those starts. Of course Pittsburgh, with Evgeni Malkin back, has seemingly stopped the bleeding.

Detroit started out 3-4-2 not a bad record but being Detroit you would expect more. Of course they had to open up the season overseas in Europe, which is always tough on any team. Pavel Datsyuk started out slowly, with only 4 pts in the first 7 games, which didn’t help matters. They also had huge injuries to Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen, two key players who are still out. Detroit has now won 6 of 7, their only loss in that span was to umm.. Toronto. Yes you read that correctly, perhaps they fell asleep. Datsyuk has since shaken off his slow start and Zetterberg has been his usual productive self. Goaltending is still iffy. Chris Osgood hasn’t really looked all that sharp and neither has his replacement Jimmy Howard.

Pittsburgh started out red hot and had the best record in the NHL. They also had a perfect 7-0 road record. Things were looking good. Then Malkin got injured and they lost 5 of 6 games, before rebounding with a tough win against Boston and then a win against Anaheim. Also starting in the last week of October their defenseman started dropping like flies. It started with Sergei Gonchar, then Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik, and Alex Goligoski followed. I can’t imagine many teams playing all that well without their top four defenseman. In fact I’m sure many teams wouldn’t win for a long time or until one of them came back. I think Malkin has a great chance to win his first Hart trophy this year as evident by the slump the Penguins suffered while he was out. Though I do realize the missing defensemen also contributed to that, Malkin is the Penguins rock. While Crosby is talented, he tends to be streaky, Malkin is generally more consistent.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think both will end up in the playoffs and both will be one of the top seeds. I also think that another rematch is possible. Although I personally don’t want to see the same teams three years in a row, I mean Marion Hossa won’t even be on the losing team if that happens. The Devils and the Sharks might have something to say about it, as they currently hold the top spots in the standings. But neither has had much postseason success recently, and of the course the Sharks playoff problems are well documented. Now teams can and have come out of nowhere to go to the Finals but, generally speaking, teams have been on the brink for a few years before they finally get there. It should be an interesting finish to the season.

Brendan Shanahan – I like to bid a fond farewell to Brendan Shanahan as he retires from the NHL after 21 seasons. Shanahan finished his career 23^rd in points (1354) and 11^th in goals (656). He is also the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals. Like Joe Sakic he will be missed.

Goalie Spotlight

Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins

Tim Thomas has the distinction this week of being in the goalie spotlight and also the goat of the week (see below).

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

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

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

Thomas led the Bruins to their best record in some time in the 08-09 season and despite suffering a tough 7^th game lost in the 2^nd round to the Hurricanes, expectations are high this year in Boston. Boston has struggled this year but Thomas for the most part has held up his end. Already recording 3 shutouts this season Thomas should easily pass his career high of 5. Look for Thomas to continue leading his team in the chase for a playoff spot.

Fights of the Week

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

Some really good fights this week to choose from. I narrowed it down to four though, two with bloodshed.

Rick Rypien vs. Brad May

High intensity fight, I love the way Rypien fights with his fists of fury. Brad May is getting older and you can tell. May gets his head caught in his jersey.

Brandon Prust vs. Adam Mair

Pretty decent fight, the refs should have let them go longer though. Prust lands some nice blows to the face at the end.

Matt Bradley vs Aaron Voros

Stick around until 40 seconds to see Bradley sporting the crimson mask.

Brian McGrattan vs Colton Orr

McGrattan gets a nice bloody nose for his troubles. Bonus points for his blonde Mohawk.

Goat of the Week

Tim Thomas for letting in a goal in the final second against the Penguins (Bill Guerin) and then giving up the game winning overtime goal (Pascal Dupuis) after misplaying the puck badly.

Trick shot of the Week

Rick Nash in his shootout winning goal against the Ducks, started to lose his balance, but he was able to regain it and score the game winner anyway.

Things I like

1. As noted above watch out NHL, Detroit is starting to heat up, Hockey’s version of the Death Star or the New England Patriots.

2. Carolina won! Sure, barely in a shootout but a win is a win. Next up they can try for a road win.

3. The Phil Kessel addition in Toronto. Sure the Maple Leafs gave up a lot to get him and they had to wait a bit until he played, but he has been productive since entering the lineup. He has 8 pts in 7 games and is one of the few players on the team with a positive +/-.

4. Chris Pronger has been quite a force in Philadelphia. Leading all defenseman on the team in scoring and 2^nd on the team in the all important +/-. Not sure why Anaheim didn’t keep him and dump Scott Neidermayer or make Scott take a huge pay cut like they make Teemu Selanne take.

5. Corey Perry (ongoing) and Ryan Getzlaf (snapped) both had 11 game scoring streaks. The longest for two teammates since Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had 13-game streaks in 2007.

Things I don’t

1. There have been a lot of blowouts this week and I am not a fan of them. It makes games harder to watch on TV and in person. Obviously if one team is playing better, that’s the way it goes but I still don’t have to like it. We had Vancouver (8) vs. Colorado (2), Atlanta (7) vs. Los Angeles (0), Detroit (9) vs. Columbus (1), Philadelphia (5) vs. Ottawa (1).

2. If Boston has hopes of making the playoffs again, David Krejci is going to have to step it up. Having lost Kessel to Toronto and Marc Savard to an injury, Krejci is needed more to prove that last years successful season was not a fluke.

3. If the playoffs started today only one Canadian team would be in it, Calgary. I’m sure that doesn’t sit well with most Canadians and I think that would only make it harder for them to win their first cup in 17 years. Good thing it’s still early.

This Week in Hockey History

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

November 12, 1931     The first NHL game was played at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Black Hawks won 2-1 over the Leafs.

November 12, 1910    At the annual meeting of the National Hockey Association (a forerunner of the NHL) a new rule was passed changing hockey’s playing time from two 30 minute periods to three 20 minute periods (with two ten-minute intermissions).

November 13, 1947    For the first time in NHL history, the league initiated the policy of having players raise their sticks to signify the scoring of a goal. Montreal’s Billy Reay became the first to do so as the Canadiens beat Chicago, 5-2 at the Forum.

November 13, 1934    St. Louis’ Ralph Bowman scored the first penalty shot goal in NHL history. It came during a 2-1 Maroons win over the St. Louis Eagles. It was Bowman’s first NHL goal, and just the second penalty shot attempt in NHL history.

November 13, 1992    Goaltender Pat Jablonski recorded the first shutout in Tampa Bay Lightning history (and the first of his NHL career) to lead the Lightning to a 1-0 win over the Ottawa Senators, in Tampa Bay.

November 14, 2001    Patrick Roy became the first goaltender in NHL history to win 200 games with two teams (Montreal and Colorado) when the Avalanche won 1-0 against the visiting Minnesota Wild. It was Roy’s 54th career shutout.

November 15, 1973    Boston’s Bobby Orr had three power play goals and added four assists to become the first NHL defenseman to score seven points in one game, as the Bruins beat the New York Rangers 10-2.

November 15, 1995    Rookie Alex Hicks scored on the first shot in his first career NHL game, then added another goal along with an assist to lead the Mighty Ducks to a 7-3 win over the Avalanche, in Anaheim.

November 17, 1979    Rookie Wayne Gretzky played against Gordie Howe for the first of four times in their NHL careers. Gretzky went scoreless while Howe picked up one assist in the Hartford Whalers’ 4-0 win over Edmonton.

Rankings

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

Top 5

1. San Jose
2. New Jersey
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Calgary

Bottom 5

30. Carolina
29. Edmonton
28. St. Louis
27. Anaheim
26. Edmonton

Ducks Watch

The Ducks are in last place in the western conference and that doesn’t sit well with me. They lost the first game on an east coast road swing against the Devils. They looked like they were still on west coast time, they didn’t play well. They lost a heartbreaker in the shootout to Columbus. True they still got a point but they played well and they should have won. They don’t do real well in shootouts, not sure why, but they don’t.

Then they had their playoff rematch against Detroit. They played well but somehow every time they had tied the game and had momentum, Detroit would literally come right back and score. Tied at 4-4, Hiller allowed 2 horrible goals in a row which cost them the game. Also of note were the first few horrible penalties the Ducks took. The refs are never fair to the Ducks but these aren’t to be blamed on the refs these are just stupid penalties. Only two types of good penalties; ones that prevent goals and breakaways and ones that stick up for your teammates, these were neither. I find it disturbing that GM Brian Burke says that coach Randy Carlyle won’t be going anytime soon, he is a proven winner. All I know is the since the Stanley Cup win, all the Ducks ever do is start slow and take dumb penalties. If that isn’t a sign of undisciplined coaching I don’t know what is. A coaching change did wonders for Pittsburgh. I think it would here as well.

Next up the defending champs again and they made sure the Ducks stayed winless on this road trip. While Corey Perry’s point streak continued (12 games now), Ryan Getzlaf’s (11 games) did not. Getzlaf also uncharacteristically was in a fight against Bill Guerin, a man 15 years older than him. Of course when you take 3 penalties in the first 8 minutes of the game, you don’t exactly give yourself a great start. Worse though was the fact that Pittsburgh was without its top 4 defensemen and the Ducks could only manage 2 goals. This team is too talented to be in last place in the conference. They need to wake up and start doing the little things better. They turn the puck over way to much in their own zone and of course all those dumb penalties. Now comes a long home stand and make or break time for their seasons playoff hopes. In a related note, I’m shopping for some brown bags with eyeholes in them.