If I were to tell you that the Phoenix Coyotes not only beat the San Jose Sharks last night, but scored 8 goals on them, their goaltender Curtis Joseph stopped all 40 shots he faced, and Jeremy Roenick scored 3 of the Phoenix tallies to join the NHL Hat Trick club.....you'd say Bosh, crack open another Labatt Blue. I would of course be happy to do so.
The Sharks have now lost four of their last five, and appear to be finding adversity for the first time this season. Adversity delivered a pizza to them last night in the form of the Phoenix Coyotes, and this one came with all the trimmings. Cujo made 40 saves for his 48th career shutout, and tied Jacques Planted for fifth on the all time wins list with his 437th victory.
On any other night, the big story would have been Jeremy Roenick. Demoted to fourth line duty on some nights, and more often that not a healthy scratch, Roenick is spitting distance from retirement. His words not mine:
-from TSN.ca
Asked if he thought he had a hat trick left in him, Roenick said, ''I didn't think I had a goal left in me. 'There were times there when I was wondering if I had many games left. My confidence has been shot for a while. It doesn't help when you're on the fourth line and you're a healthy scratch.''
Perhaps this old dog does have a few new tricks left?
The Coyotes finished the evening 8-0, chasing Sharks keeper Evgeni Nabokov who allowed 3 goals on 6 shots (and the fantasy owner I'm playing this week started him! WOOOHOOO!!!), and Toskala was pounded for 5 more. Phoenix is now only 8 points out of playoff spot, and like their counterparts down under in Columbus and St. Louis, they are beginning to put some wins together and climb in the standings.
Quick Shave:
The Vancouver Canucks have rediscovered the art of scoring goals, and their most recent victim was the Edmonton Oilers. Daniel Sedin was at it again, scoring two goals and an assist to lift the Canucks to the 6-2 win. Martin Brodeur is still the man. The New Jersey Devils goaltender shutout the New York Islanders 2-0 by making 29 saves. It was Brodeur's 6th shutout of the season, and the 86th of his career. Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro actually had a solid night in net as well making 36 saves on the evening. The New York Rangers fought their way to their first win in 8 games. Literally. Brendan Shanahan dropped the gloves with Donald Brashear in the third period after he got tired of him taking liberties with Jaromir Jagr all game. In a very physical match, the Rangers clawed and scrapped their way to a 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Nashville Predators backup goaltender Chris Mason (still covering for the injured Vokoun) shutdown, and shutout the Boston Bruins by stopping all 38 shots he faced. The Predators won the game 5-0. The St. Louis Blues are back! As I mentioned earlier, they, the Jackets and the Yotes are attempting to turn their seasons around, and thus far appear to be doing it. The Blues Manny Legace made 33 saves to shutout the Colorado Avalanche 2-0 last night.
Game of the Night:
Anaheim at Minnesota 6:00 PM
Chicago at Columbus 7:00 PM
Los Angeles at Detroit 7:00 PM
Edmonton at Calgary 8:00 PM
Philadelphia at Carolina 8:00 PM
San Jose at Dallas 8:00 PM
What game prior to a New Year's Bash isn't great? I give you the entire card for the evening, and I'll let you decide which ones to watch for the final day of 2006.....although if you need any help deciding....Edmonton vs. Calgary looks juicy to me. Have a great New Years Eve folks! Thanks for an amazing year!
Oh and Forsberg will net 3 and become the final HTC member of the year.
Isn't it terrific when you spend hours sweating over your fantasy roster, weighing your options and finally deciding who you should start, and who should ride the virtual pine.....and then see it all blow up in your face? So last night, I made the decision to sit New Jersey Devils center Scott Gomez, in favor of Anaheim's Andy McDonald, and New York's Michael Nylander......and I am still kicking myself.
Gomez had a gem of a game last night for the Devils, and for fantasy owners (fantasy owners who didn't bench him that is), as he scored two goals, an assist, had a +3 rating, and even kicked it for 2 minutes in the penalty box. Elias also added a goal and 2 assists, and Brodeur did the usual making 32 stops as the Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3. The Devils have now defeated the Caps for the sixth straight time, and have won 11 of their last 13 meetings.
Great job Bosh.
Quick Shave:
The Pittsburgh Penguins jumped off their 5 game losing streak by jumping all over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night 4-1. Sidney Crosby assisted on three of the scores and now continues to lead the NHL in scoring with 58 points. 58 points in 34 games! Crosby is something special. The New York Rangers however are far from special. Their losing streak hit 7 games last night with a 1-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The Rangers have not been able to find the back of the net in two games. Ray Emery recorded his second straight shutout for the Senators. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the injury riddled Anaheim Ducks last night 4-2. Cam Ward made 25 saves and Rod Brind'Amour had a goal and an assist (Brind'Amour was honored prior to the match for achieving the 1000 point milestone earlier this season). Eddie Belfour appears to be getting more starts in Florida and he is playing big in net for the Panthers. Belfour made 32 saves last night to help the Florida Panthers beat the red hot Montreal Canadies 3-1. The St. Louis Blues won again! Martin Rucinsky potted 2 past the Colorado Avalanche's new number one goalie Peter Budaj to help his team to the 4-2 win.
Game of the Night:
Atlanta at Buffalo 7:00 PM
New Jersey at NY Islanders 7:00 PM
The top two teams in the East face off as the Thrashers visit the Sabres, and a little closer to home (to mine anyway), the top two teams in the Atlantic go head to head out on Long Island. Enjoy the games!
I wanted to mention this, because TSN.ca, a site of which I am an unabashed fan is broadcasting the World Juniors games on their website. NHL Center Ice is doing a great job of playing some of the games, but to catch them all, visit TSN.ca by clicking here. Enjoy the games!
The tandem in Philadelphia that had so much success last season finally clicked this season and broke the Flyers 10 game losing streak with a victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night.
Simon Gagne, and Peter Forsberg combined for 5 points on the evening to help lift the Flyers from the shadows to defeat Tampa Bay 4-3. Forsberg set up Gagne for two goals last night, and also assisted on recently acquired Alexei Zhitnik's goal to open the scoring. Believe it or not, Flyers goaltender Robert Esche made 42 saves and held on to preserve the win.
While the victory was certainly a confidence booster, it does little to boost their current position in the NHL. The Flyers have 20 points on the season, and sit dead last in the league. The future of this team in the short term will most likely be a pre-trade deadline purge followed by an early if not first round pick in this years NHL Entry Draft.
Quick Shave:
The Carolina Hurricanes win streak was stopped cold last night by John Grahame. I mean by the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres have owned the Canes all season and last night was different. Sabres keeper made 29 saves to lift his team past the Hurricanes 4-1. I believe the fourth time they've met this season.....perhaps third...regardless the Hurricanes can't beat them. The Detroit Red Wings took my advice and gave Hasek the night off last night as they faced the new look Columbus Blue Jackets. Wings goaltender Chris Osgood was good enough and made 21 saves, while Datsyuk, and Cleary each scored 2 goals to defeat the Jackets 7-4. The Los Angeles Kings followed the Wings lead by defeating the Edmonton Oilers by the same score 7-4 last night.
Game of the Night:
NY Rangers at Ottawa 7:30 PM
The last time the Rangers played Ottawa it sparked a 5 game win streak. The Rangers have lost 6 in a row since that streak ended, and are thirsty for a win.....I am anyway. Look for Havlat to join the HTC against the Bruins tonight. Enjoy the games!
The Vancouver Canucks managed to sweep the home and home series against the Calgary Flames....but the second game was almost thrown away.
The Canucks twice handed away two goal leads to the Flames, once in the second, and again early in the third. Miika Kipprusoff and Roberto Luongo were uncharacteristically soft in this one, as they allowed a combined 11 goals in the match. After Calgary drew even at 4, Jarome Iginla setup a Daymond Langkow for the go ahead goal on the powerplay and appeared to have the game in hand. Minutes later, Captain Markus Naslund responded in kind to setup of Ryan Kesler for the game tying score and force the game to overtime.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin who were the heroes of the game a night ago in Calgary had been kept shotless for most of the game following their opening tallies in the first did the Flames in again last night. Daniel Sedin helped set up the play for Sami Salo to pot the game winner from the point in extra time.
The Vancouver victory gave the Canucks 39 points to take first place in the Northwest Division and vault them into third place overall in the Western Conference. The point the Flames got for reaching overtime brought them into a 4 way second place tie with Edmonton, Colorado, and Minnesota, all with 38 points. The San Jose Sharks, and Detroit Red Wings sit 4th and 5th in the West with 50, and 49 points respectively. The playoffs are still 3+months away, and we have ourselves a pretty tight race already.
Quick Shave:
The Montreal Canadiens pounded the Washington Capitals 4-1 last night. Cristobal Huet fell just shy of another shutout as Caps forward Alexander Semin scored with less than 3 minutes to play in the game. Huet made 30 saves on the night for the win. The Atlanta Thrashers keep on winning and the Pittsburgh Penguins keep on losing. Thus is the ebb and flow of the NHL. Next week these roles could be reversed. However for now, the Atlanta Thrashers took their fifth straight by defeating the Penguins 4-2 last night. The New York Islanders 'Ranger hangover' has to be for real. Every time the Islanders hand it to the Rangers, the following game, they hand a victory to their opponents. Last night, (a night removed from shutting out the Rangers), the Islanders were held scoreless by the Ottawa Senators, as they took the game 2-0, on an 18 save performance by Ray Emery. Rick DiPietro shutout streak at home ended at 156 minutes and 30 seconds. The injury bug has begun to rain in Dallas, but that hasn't seemed to slow them too much. The Dallas Stars already without Mike Modano, and Eric Lindros recently added new captain Brendan Morrow to the unable to play list. The Stars still managed to outscore the Colorado Avalanche last night for the 5-4 victory. Avs keeper Jose Theodore was yanked again, after allowing 5 goals on 22 shots....has he fallen from grace or what? The Philadelphia Flyers have now lost 10 straight games. If the Eagles don't make the playoffs this season, there will most likely be mass suicides by way of cheese steaks. The Flyers were felled last night by the Florida Panthers 3-1 on the back of a 23 save performance by Ed Belfour. Peter Forsberg returned to action for the Flyers last night, but did little to spark his team to the win column. Reports are saying that Todd Bertuzzi could be back in the lineup for the Panthers by February. He has missed most of the season following back surgery complications. The Detroit Red Wings look good. Real good. Now is the time to start resting Hasek, and looking ahead to the playoffs. Yes he is playing incredible, as last night he made 32 saves to lift the Wings to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild, however.....this teams hopes rest on the fragile groin of this 41 year old (who will be 42 in a month). Start rotating in MacDonald, or Osgood, or just leave the net empty some games. And if he get's elected to the All Star game, hide his passport or lock him in his house so he can't play.
Game of the Night:
Carolina at Buffalo 7:00 PM
YEEAAAH! Can the Canes do it? Stillman's back! Ward's playing great! I think they can! Look for Patty Marleau to pot three against the Yotes tonight. Enjoy the games.
Is there any doubt in the power of the playoff beard? Joe Thornton started the season on a down note....then he grew a playoff beard. Joe now has 40 points (9 goals, 31 assists) on the season and once again has his San Jose Sharks sitting among the elite in the West, if not the NHL.
Across the country, in an arena built on top of what was originally land fill, Rick DiPietro, goaltender for the New York Islanders, has grown himself a fine playoff beard over the past month, and has been harvesting wins for his club ever since.
DiPietro shutdown the New York Rangers last night by stopping all 28 shots they threw at him for the 2-0 win. The victory was the third win in a row at Nassau Coliseum by way of shutout. The shutout was his fourth of the season, and 10th of his career. DiPietro has not allowed a goal at home in over 185 minutes of play now. Can you say playoff beard? We can. That is why we congratulate Rick DiPietro on being the Playoff Beard of the Month for December. Congratulations Rick!
Quick Shave:
Across the Hudson, and I guess the East River, and parts of Staten Island in New Jersey, goaltender Martin Brodeur was making noise of his own by shutting down the high flying Pittsburgh Penguins. Broduer made 26 saves for the New Jersey Devils for the 3-0 shutout win, the 85th of his career. The Anaheim Ducks had a scare last night as star goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere was felled by a leg injury late in the second period against the San Jose Sharks. Rookie Mike Wall stepped in for Giguere and needed to make only 4 saves to preserve the 4-3 win for the Ducks. Fantasy owners of Giguere may want to consider picking up Wall if he is out for an extended period as Bryzgalov is currently on the IR with a groin injury right now. Expect Wall to get a beard load of starts. The Vancouver Canucks stagnant offence came to life last night against the stingy Calgary Flames thanks in large part to the Sedin twins. Daniel Sedin scored a pair of goals, and brother Henrik offered up twin assists in the 3-1 win. The Carolina Hurricanes have quietly been stockpiling wins recently, and last night took their fifth straight by defeating the Florida Panthers 4-2. Cam Ward made 25 saves and Rod Brind'Amour potted the game winner for the Canes.
Game of the Night:
Atlanta at Pittsburgh 7:30 PM
This just looks like it will be a fun one to watch. Speed, speed, speed. Also, at 1pm today, Canada will be playing USA in the World Juniors, and NHL Center Ice will be airing it! Enjoy the games my friends!
Two days without hockey.....I almost didn't make it.
Christmas may be over, but here at Playoff Beard the presents keep on coming. December 26th presents us with a couple of great matchups worthy of our attention:
Washington at Buffalo 7:00 PM
Last time these two faced off, the Capitals got the better of the Sabres. This was also the game in which superstar forward Alexander Ovechkin was ejected from the match for checking Sabres captain Daniel Briere from behind driving him face first into the boards. Expect this game to be extremely physical, as well as nasty. There probably won't be much love lost between these two teams after tonight, and this could develop into a nasty rivalry.
NY Rangers at NY Islanders 7:30 PM
The Rangers are falling, and the Islanders are flying. After snapping off a 5 game win streak, the Rangers have just capped a 5 game losing streak.....man does this echo of 1999....and 2000, and 2001, 2002, 03.....ugggh. The Islanders have been playing some outstanding hockey this season under Ted Nolan, and he has actually found the player the Yashin used to be. The Islanders have also gotten some incredible goaltending from Rick DiPietro, who is coming off a blanking of the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Throw all this into one of the most heated rivalries in sports and you have the recipe for a great game.
Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 PM
If you have NHL Center Ice you've no doubt spent many a late night watching these two teams. The Ducks and Sharks are arguably the best teams in the West, and both are headed on a collision course to the Western Conference Finals. The Ducks took the last meeting, but the Sharks have rebounded nicely since that loss, defeating the Stars, and the Flames. Ducks. Sharks. Surf and Turf served up Playoff Beard style!
Friday night's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks was more than a hit in the standings for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Forward Michael Peca was injured following a collision with Blackhawks defenceman Jim Vandermeer. Peca suffered a fractured tibia as a result of the contact.
Yesterday Peca had surgery on the fractured leg, which required screws and plating to secure multiple fractures across the bone. The surgery was successful, but the minimum downtime for such an injury is three months, and it is unlikely he will be back on the ice for the Leafs this year unless they make the post season. And that is looking less likely every day.
Quick Shave:
Way to go Phoenix! This was either a case of the Phoenix Coyotes playing way over their heads, or the Anaheim Ducks taking them for granted. Regardless, Shane Doan and Fredrik Sjostrom scored two goals 13 seconds apart late in the third to defeat the Ducks 2-0, and give the Yotes faithful, a very nice Christimas present. Another team delivering a holiday surprise to their fans this week, as well as last night are the St. Louis Blues. The Blues dumped the Eastern Conference's best team in the Buffalo Sabres last night 3-2 in overtime. Bill Guerin potted a pair of goals including the game winner. So two of the worst teams in the league (statistically speaking of course) defeated the two best teams in the NHL last night! Another team in the spirit of giving last night was the Nashville Predators, as they put 7 pucks in the Los Angeles Kings stockings. The Predators shutdown the Kings for the 7-0 win. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 last night. Sharks keeper Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves on the evening and has won his last four starts. The New York Rangers have now lost 5 in a row, and their second consecutive when entering the third with a lead. The Rangers gave up a 3-0 lead last night to the Tampa Bay Lightning and allowed Dan Boyle to join the HTC and help his club to the 4-3 win. New York Islanders Rick DiPietro is really answering the bell after signing his 15 year contract. Last night the Isles netminder stopped all 26 Columbus Blue Jackets shots he faced for the 4-0 win, and his third victory by way of shutout this season. The Islanders are now just 2 points behind the 1st place Devils, and 1 point behind the second place Rangers.
Well I guess that's it for today. I want to wish all my boys Happy Holidays and thanks as always for the support!
The Ottawa Senators have lost center Jason Spezza for the next 4-6 weeks due to a knee injury. Spezza sustained the injury after he was hit Thursday night by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis.
Losing Spezza who leads the Senators with 44 points this season, is another major blow to this club that is already on a downward spiral having lost 6 of their last 8 games. The Senators number one defenceman Wade Redden has spent much of the season hurt, and is a big part of the downfall of this club (that and the loss of Chara to UFA, and not having a legitimate goaltender).
Quick Shave:
Congratulations to Peter Bondra who joined the 500 club last night. Bondra scored the game winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third (big surprise there) to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-1win.
Game of the Night:
Montreal at Boston 7:00 PM
Calgary at San Jose 10:00 PM
An original six matchup that should be a great game.....the Habs are playing great and look for Chris Higgins to join the HTC against the B's.....that's a little self indulgent since i just picked him up the other day.....but the kid is good, and a local. Calgaray and San Jose, I don't really think I need to explain that one do I? Enjoy the games folks, we have a small hiatus for the Christmas break, and the NHL will resume on the 26th!
The bad news is raining down on Steel Town this week.
A week ago Jim Balsillie pulled out of the deal to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins franchise for $175 million, and just a few days later, the Pennsylvania gaming panel awarded a slots license to another bidder, rather than the Isle of Capri Casinos which had promised to build the franchise a new $290 million dollar stadium if they secured the license. Compounding that, Owner Mario Lemieux issued a statement yesterday suggesting the team will begin looking into relocation.
Talk about a crap storm for the fans of the Penguins, who have been mired for years in bankruptcy, the gutting of their club's best players, and having to watch an awful product on the ice. Now, the Penguins boast two of the NHL's best players in Crosby and Malkin, and the franchise appears to be turning a corner by showing signs of it's future greatness. Similiar in many ways to the Quebec fans who had to not only watch their team up and leave for Colorado, but a year later see that same franchise hoist the Stanley Cup. The Penguins club will be a winner in the very near term, and it would be a crushing blow to the fans of this city to move the franchise to which they have been so dedicated.
Quick Shave: Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco has shutdown the West's second best club for the second straight time. The Dallas Stars defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-0 last night. Turco made 20 saves for his 4th shutout of the season. Well my game of the night prediction was anything but. The Buffalo Sabres marched into Nashville and hammered the Predators 7-2. Buffalo Sabres, Pominville, Afinogenov, and Kotalik all had 2 goal games in the rout over the Nashville Predators. After going on a 5 game winning streak, the New York Rangers have taken a major turn for the worse, and have lost 4 straight. Last night they did their best Leafs impression, by carrying a 2-0 lead into the third and blew it, to lose to the Florida Panthers by the final of 3-2. The Montreal Canadiens continue to roll, and the Philadelphia Flyers continue to roll over. The Habs beat the Flyers 4-2 last night. The St. Louis Blues have a 2 game winning streak! Last night they defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 for their second straight. The Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche game was postponed last night because apparently Denver looks like Hoth from the Empire Strikes Back right now. I recommend seeking shelter within the intestines of a Taun Taun, or Jose Theodore. I guess the scrum at practice did little to help the Ottawa Senators. The Tampa Bay Lightning whooped up on the Sens for a 4-2 victory. Muckler, Murray....can you say FIRED?
Game of the Night:
NY Islanders at Carolina 7:00 PM
Let's see how the new look Islanders matchup against the Stanley Cup Champs. The Islanders made a few roster moves before the trade freeze, that actually lightened their salary cap load to the tune of $6 million. Is GM Garth Snow planning a big pickup for a playoff push? Could be. Look for Markus Naslund to find the net three times tonight as the Canucks visit Columbus. Enjoy the games!
The Columbus Blue Jackets may have stole a win in Columbus the other night over the Red Wings. The Red Wings made sure that wouldn't happen again.
Year in and year out, the Red Wings always manage to ice a competitive team, and this season is no different. Bouncing back from a Monday night 4-3 loss against the same Blue Jackets the Red Wings thundered home a victory. Dominik Hasek who was yanked in Monday's loss, responded with 27 saves for the 73rd shutout of the season.....just kidding, of his career. Dan Cleary scored two early goals for the Wings in the first and that was all they would need to take the victory. However Lidstrom (who also had an assist), Maltby, and Williams also scored to take the 5-0 win, from a much improved Columbus Blue Jackets club. By the way, when did the Blue Jackets pick up Ty Conklin?
Quick Shave: Nashville Predators forward Paul Kariya scored both goals for his team last and backup goalie Chris Mason made 28 saves to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 last night. Martin Havlat recorded the lone tally for the Hawks. Predators forward Jason Arnott is back in the lineup again, so you fantasy owners can take him off IR. He has 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) and is a +5 in 21 games this season. The Dallas Stars appear to have themselves a case of Devil-itis. They can't score goals anymore. In fairness however, not many teams are scoring against Jean Sebastien Giguere and the Anaheim Ducks this season (except for those Panthers!). Anaheim forward Corey Perry scored a pair, and the Ducks chased Dallas goalie Marty Turco for the 4-1 win last night. The Ottawa Senators are apparently fighting amongst themselves. Literally. Sens forwards Chris Neil and Antoin Vermette had themselves a scrap yesterday during practice. Ottawa has dropped their last five games. Was I right in saying it was too early to get excited about them? Perhaps. The Philadelphia Flyers, have traded center Randy Robitaille to the New York Islanders for Mike York. Pretty good move for the Flyers, and horrible Christmas present for Mike York, who goes from one of the best teams in the East, to quite possibly the worst in the NHL.
Game of the Night:
Buffalo at Nashville 8:00 PM
Even without Tomas Vokoun, the Nashville Predators are still winning. Backup Chris Mason, and the rest of the Preds have done a nice job. Is this the best team in the league that no one talks about or what? The Predators are in 2nd place in the Western Conference, and have a 5 point cushion over the 2nd place Red Wings in the Central. These guys are awesome and no one talks about them. Except for Bosh. Let's give them some love as they face the Eastern Conference best Buffalo Sabres tonight. I'll do you one better. Predators rookie Alexander Radulov will join the HTC and put three past Miller tonight. Done and Done! Enjoy the games!
I have to admit at the start of the season I was really worried about Cristobal Huet. He had all of the symptoms early on that would indicate he would be embracing a sophomore slump. The boys on the Face Off Hockey Show had a great debate about this with Lyle Richardson from Spector's Hockey. They discussed how often keepers that have amazing first years, or incredible runs during the post season fall flat. The list was long and distinguished.....
Cristobal Huet of the Montreal Canadiens at one point was in danger of losing his starting role to backup goalie David Aebischer, but over the past month has more than ensured he will be number one in Montreal. Last night's performance, was yet another notch in his goal stick as he turned aside 42 Buffalo Sabres shots in a dominant 5-2 victory over the Eastern Conference's best club. The Habs have been one of the few teams that have had an answer for Buffalo's speed, defense, and goaltending (Ottawa being the other), and after trading several tight games with the Sabres, the Canadiens unleashed the KRACKEN!
Christopher Higgins who recently returned to the Habs lineup, scored twice, and Kovaleve, Lapierre and Bouillon also added tallies for the Habs. The Habs trail only the Buffalo Sabres in the Northeast, and would be in second place overall in the Eastern Conference if they weren't in the same division as their rivals.
Quick Shave:
Big night for the HTC. Boston Bruins forward Marco Sturm scored three goals to secure his place in the NHL HTC and help his club defeat the Ottawa Senators 7-2 last night. Zdeno Chara returned to Ottawa for the first time since leaving as a UFA. New York Islanders forward Jason Blake added three goals of his own to lift his team past the New York Rangers for the second time in 2 weeks 5-2....and of course was greeted by the NHL HTC for his efforts. Last night was a goal fest! Three of the winners scored 7 goals (Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Colorado Avalanche), three more scored 5 (Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay LIghtning, and Calgary Flames), and three more potted 4 (New York Islanders, St. Louis Blues...yes they finally won, and the Atlanta Thrashers). I guess the keepers took the night off....or the forwards were chugging espresso prior to the games.
Game of the Night:
Columbus at Detroit 7:30 PM
Nashville at Chicago 8:30 PM
Dallas at Anaheim 10:00 PM
The last one is obviously the big one, but all of the games on the Western Night look pretty fun to me. Look for Lindros to join the HTC with three against the Ducks tonight. Right! Enjoy the games my friends!
Our very own Playoff Beard of the Month winner for December, George Parros capped a dominant win over the Calgary Flames, by ending a shift with a little toe to toe action with Calgary defenceman Robin Regehr. Parros has to be one of the few enforcers I've ever seen actually go to the body when the head isn't available. Regehr will be soaking his ribs all day today.
The Ducks and Flames took a 1-1 tie into the third period in a physical matchup that eventually wore Calgary down. Then Anaheim opened the flood gates on goals from Pahlsson, Penner, and a sweet late empty netter by Corey Perry (you gotta see the replay on that one....should be on the hightlights this week), and goaltender J.S. Giguere finished off his 22nd win of the year by defeating the Flames 4-1. The Ducks stretched their lead in the Pacific Division and further cemented their foothold for first place in the Western Conference. Unless they totally collapse over the next two weeks, we will see Anaheim Coach Randy Carlyle behind the bench coaching the Western All-Stars.....and still not playing Ilya Bryzgalov.
The Anaheim broadcasters tossed out a great line during a scrum in the third between several Ducks, and Flames players..."It looks like an NBA game down there!"
Quick Shave:
The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to prove that they could be for real. Sergei Federov returned to Detroit to score two goals including the game winner. The Blue Jackets took a 3-0 lead in the first period over the Detroit Red Wings, and hung to win 4-3 on a 33 save performance by Fredrik Norrena....a good fantasy pickup in your leagues right now if he's available (I grabbed him in one of mine!). Speaking of Federov, apparently there has been rumors of the Montreal Canadiens trying to trade for him last week. Right now I don't see it happening with the way they are playing, but if they fall apart, this wouldn't shock me. He carries a hefty price tag, and might be worth unloading for the Blue Jackets if the right deal falls in their laps.
Game of the Night:
Montreal at Buffalo 7:00 PM
NY Islanders at NY Rangers 7:00 PM
Atlanta at New Jersey 7:30 PM
Couple of good games on tonight. The best has to be the Habs and Sabres. These two teams have provided some of the best hockey I've seen all season when they've met. The Islanders and Rangers should be a great game depending on which Ranger team shows up, and the Devils face their old forward Bobby Holik and his new team the Atlanta Thrashers tonight. Enjoy the games you Chewbacca lookalikes!
Oh...Alexander Frolov will pot 3 against Nashville tonight for the Kings.
The Chicago Blackhawks could be one of the biggest surprises this season, aside from the total collapse occurring in Philadelphia. While most, including myslef, expected very little from this franchise, even after several big trades that saw them acquire Martin Havlat from Ottawa, and Michal Handzus from Philly, Chicago has weathered some early adversity and appears to be making a push for the post season.
While a large part of their ressurgence has been because of forward Martin Havlat, who while only playing in 12 of the Blackhawks 32 games, leads the team with 11 goals, and has 21 points on the season. Havlat is also an impressive +13 rating and is obviously relishing the role of being the goto player on the team. The other big reason why the Blackhawks are turning it around. Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. Khabibulin has rediscovered his game that made him one of the most dominating netminders in the NHL, and helped bring the first ever Stanley Cup Championship title to the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise. Khabibulin has won 11 of his 19 starts for the Blackhawks including last night's 28 save performance that helped his team defeat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1. The Chicago Blackhawks now have 33 points and are just 2 points out of playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Quick Shave:
The New York Rangers have completed quite possibly the worst back to back performances in 10 years this weekend. Surrendering 14 goals in the outings. Last night they were completely outclassed by the New Jersey Devils who routed them for the second straight evening 6-1. Let's get it together blueshirts! The Nashville Predators edged the St. Louis Blues last night 2-1 in OT on a goal by Kimmo Timonen. The loss was St. Louis' 11th row, and it is not a question of if, but when they will start unloading their high priced veteran talent for draft picks and prospects.
Game of the Night:
Detroit at Columbus 7:00 PM
Calgary at Anaheim 10:00 PM
Both of these matchups look pretty interesting. Columbus came back down to earth after their winning streak, and will look to test themselves against the always formidable Red Wings, and Anaheim will be looking to rebound against the Calgary Flames after a tight loss to the San Jose Sharks. I don't really think we'll witness any HTC action tonight, but I'll take my chances on Lidstrom. Enjoy the games!
The Ducks met the Sharks last night in what will surely be a playoff matchup this season. The Pacific Division rivals, currently sit first (Ducks) and second (Sharks), and both lead the Western Conference in points.
The Anaheim Ducks who carried a 7 game road winning streak into the Shark Tank last night.....saw it snapped. San Jose Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo scored late in the third to tie the score 3-3. With little more than 2 minutes in the game, Joe Thornton potted the game winner on a shot that deflected off of Ducks defenceman Scott Niedermayer. Sharks keeper Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves on the evening to lift his club to a 4-3 win over the Ducks.
Quick Shave:
A couple of winning streaks ended last night....and ended hard. The New York Rangers saw their winning streak snapped big time as they were embarrassed by the Toronto Maple Leafs 9-2. Kyle Wellwood joined the HTC with his 3 goal, 5 point performance. Actually I think every Leaf may have joined the HTC last night. The Pittsburgh Penguins saw their win streak halted by the Montreal Canadiens as they lost 6-3. Habs captain Saku Koivu recorded his customary 2 goals. Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla almost made me look like a genius last night, as he was one goal shy of the HTC. Iginla had 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in a 6-3 romp of the Phoenix Coyotes last night. The New York Islanders goalie Rick Dipietro bounced back from a rought outting against the Pens the other night, to shutout the Atlanta Thrashers 6-0. The Detroit Red Wings won for the first time ever in New Jersey yesterday afternoon 2-1. The New Jersey Devils don't score goals anymore, so Hasek only needed to make 21 saves for the win. The Devils have now dropped three in a row. The Ottawa Senators looked like the team they should be last night defeating the Eastern Conference leading Buffalo Sabres for the third time this season 3-1. Jason Spezza scored two goals, and goalie Ray Emery stopped 35 Buffalo Shots for the win.
Game of the Night:
New Jersey at NY Rangers 7:00 PM
Embarrrassing losers from last night, face off against three game losers.....both teams will be up for this one, and it should be a nasty Garden party. Bondra will join the HTC tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. Enjoy the games!
Wow! What else can you say. Sidney Crosby's play this week has been nothing short of amazing. After lighting up the Flyers for 6 points Wednesday night, Crosby continued his NHL Player of the Week performance by potting a goal and set up all three of Ryan Malone's goals, for a 4 point evening. Welcome to the NHL Hat Trick Club Mr. Malone!
The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the Islanders until the third period, where even Mark Recchi admitted they got a little lazy, but still went on to defeat the New York Islanders 7-4. Islander goaltender Rick DiPietro allowed 5 goals on 29 shots (way to blow up my goalie stats bro), and backup Mike Dunham did his share by allowing 2 more on 6 shots. Penguins keeper Jocelyn Thibault made 28 saves on the evening.
The Pittsburgh Penguins passed the Islanders for 3rd place in the Atlantic Division and are now in 6th place overall in the Eastern Conference. My prediction that we would see Sidney Crosby sporting a playoff beard this year doesn't seem so ridiculous now does it?
Quick Shave:
The Washington Capitals are another team that is riding on the shoulders of their young superstar. Alexander Ovechking scored the game-tying goal against the Atlanta Thrashers with less than a minute remaining, then just seconds into the overtime period potted the game winner. The final goal was his third of the game, and although the three didn't come during regulation, I submit that Ovechkin should be admitted into the NHL HTC. That being said....CONGRATULATIONS TO STACHE! Playoff Moustache called the AO hatrick, and will now recieve a drawing of Ovechkin, or another player if he wishes. Well done sir! Well done indeed! The Toronto Maple Leafs barely avoided another third period implosion against the Carolin Hurricanes last night. Leading the Canes 3-1, the Leafs allowed 2 goals, and it appeared they would let another lead slip away, until forward Alexander Steen scored the eventual game winner with 6 minutes to play. Has Jose Theodore lost his starting goaltending job in Colorado? It appears so. Former backup Peter Budaj made his third consecutive start and 18 saves to propel the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
Game of the Night:
Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 PM
Although the early game of Pittsburgh visiting Montreal to play the Habs looks good, this game is the main event. The two monsters of the West throw down for what should be an awesome game, and certain playoff matchup. Iginla gets my nod for the HTC as he and the Flames visit the Phoenix Coyotes. Enjoy the games!
The Rangers didn't play their best game tonight, but they still pulled off a win against the Dallas Stars last night 5-2. Fortunately for the Rangers, they didn't have to face Dallas' big gun in net Marty Turco.....unfortunate for backup Mike Smith, who started the season well, but has now been torched for 4 goals in two straight outings.
One of the side stories of the evening was the New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist's twin brother, Joel, was called up from the Dallas Stars affiliate club and was in the lineup last night. The big story last night was the play of Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers committed 11 penalties, of which the Stars converted 2. Lundqvist was shelled throughout the game, making 43 saves on the evening.
The New York Rangers now hold the Atlantic Division lead, and sit third overall in the Eastern Conference.
Quick Shave:
Do the Ottawa Senators know who they are? The look great! They look like crap! They look great! They look like crap! Last night, they looked like crap. Big time. The Nashville Predators shutdown the Senators offence, and Steve Sullivan joined the NHL HTC with his three goals that helped his team take the 6-0 win. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning (the rumors of trades coming to this franchise are beginning to swirl) by coming from behind in the third on pair of Saku Koivu goals to win the game 4-2. Habs keeper Cristobal Huet (who is the man....and on Bosh's fantasy roster) made 41 saves on the night for the win. Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks took it to the Calgary Flames last night. Luongo redeemed himself after being yanked the last time he faced the Flames by making 20 saves to help the Canucks to the 3-1 win. The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially released forward John LeClair. LeClair's salary will still count against the cap, but the Penguins won't have to pay him the remainder of his contract in lieu of a suspension. LeClair will now be able to sign with another franchise....if there is one out there that might want him. Speaking of suspensions and teams not wanting you....looks like Phoenix Coyotes forward Jeremy Roenick's days are numbered....not just in Phoenix, but in the NHL. Roenick is a shadow of his former self, and it is painfully obvious that this it. Roenick has been a healthy scratch for several games this season, and earlier this week, after being scratched left the game to enjoy the roast duck with the mango salsa at a restaurant and watch the game on the big screen. Wayne Gretzky was a little pissed. Roenick was scratched again last night as punishment for the incident, and they went on to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 by shootout. Detroit Red Wings groinly...I mean goalie Dominik Hasek made 29 saves to help the Wings to a 3-2 win over the re-Havlat-ed Chicago Blackhawks.
The Dragons
Well the boys in white (and red, and some blue, and gray, and green) started the season off on a good note. Facing off against last season's champs the Wolfpack, the Dragons played a see-saw match trading the lead several times on multiple goals by Mike Feeney and Mike McCarthy. The Dragons tied the game 6-6 with 18 seconds remaining on a late score by Mike Feeney (who is sporting a handsome playoff beard these days....coincidence?). Goaltender, and slacks model Jose Alicea closed the doors on the Wolfpack during the shootout and Mark Giordano (no not the guy from the Calgary Flames) potted the game winner. Franicis Montalbano cleared waivers yesterday and was sent down to the Dragons minor league affiliate.
Game of the Night:
NY Islanders at Pittsburgh 7:30 PM
The Islanders may have Alexei Yashin back in the lineup, and they will need him and everyone else to stop the NHL's scoring leader Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight. Look for Cory Stillman to join the HTC against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. Enjoy the games my bearded friends!
The Philadelphia Flyers hate Sidney Crosby. Everytime this kid plays the Flyers he puts on a show for them...much to their dissapointment. In 13 games against them, Crosby has 29 points, 15 of them coming in 5 wins over the Flyers this season.
Last night was clinic....I know the phrase can be overused, but there is no other way to describe his performance last night. Granted Crosby didn't join the HTC as I predicted, he scored a career high 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) against his cross state rivals, and propelled himself to the NHL scoring lead with 47 points (3 ahead of Jagr).
The Pittsburgh Penguins torched the Philadelphia Flyers 8-4, on multi point games by Sergei Gonchar (2 goals, 3 assists), Ryan Malone (1 goal, 3 assists), and Mark Recchi (1 goal, 1 assist). Jordan Staal scored another short-handed goal for the Penguins as well. The Penguins converted three powerplay opportunities on the evening.
Good news for the Flyers last night though. Kyle Calder scored his first of the year.
Quick Shave:
Teemu Selanne's 2 goal evening last night, lifted the Anaheim Ducks to yet another road win on their East coast travels. Last night they defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 2-1extending their road winning streak to a club record seven games. The Ducks have now won 10 of their last 11 games. Ducks goaltender and fixture between the pipes for the last nine games made 34 saves for the win. The St. Louis Blues failed to get a victory for the new coach Andy Murray for his second game, losing their ninth straight, this time to the Colorado Avalanche. Pierre Turgeon, appearing in his third game since returning from injury, scored his second goal, and Peter Budaj made 25 saves to complete the 4-1 win.
Game of the Night:
NY Rangers at Dallas 8:30 PM
The New York Rangers carry their 4 game winning streak into Dallas tonight, so look for Jagr to join the HTC and take back the NHL scoring lead from Sidney Crosby! Enjoy the games!
Add some motivation, a little goal scoring, some netminding, and Ken Hitchcock, and what do you get? Wins! Wins in bunches! Is this a completely different Columbus Blue Jacket team or what?
The Jackets win streak reached the magic number of 5 last night as they defeated Hitch's former team the Dallas Stars 3-1. The victory was their first in Dallas after being owned by the Stars in their home arena the first 10 times they met.
The Blue Jackets once again got solid goaltending from their rookie Fredrik Norrena (I can't bring myself to call him the backup anymore as he may have won himself the starting job from Pascal Leclaire, who was injured during the last game against Ottawa), who made 25 saves on the evening. Forward Anson Carter who signed on with Columbus as a UFA from Vancouver where he was riding the wing with the Sedin twins, had two assists on the evening setting up Dan Fritsche and Jason Chimera.
Columbus still has a way to go before they climb back into the playoff picture but they are slowly approaching the .500 mark and they have now toppled a few formidable teams during their win streak. More than likely, they won't be an opponent that is taken for granted any longer.
Quick Shave:
Hey Hey! The Toronto Maple Leafs won a game! This time it was the Leafs who rebounded from a two goal bankruptcy on a pair of scores by Chad Kilger, to take a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Ottawa Senators barely ended their slide last night by scoring three quick goals (two by Sens forward Jason Spezza) during the second period to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. Montreal Canadiens former doghouse resident (we'll see about that one) Sergei Samsonov woke up last night after 19 games without a score and delivered two goals against to defeat his former team the Boston Bruins 4-3. The Buffalo Sabres are still the class of the league, and when their opponents commit an error against them, they more often than not capitalize on said mistakes. Last night the New Jersey Devils handed multiple turnovers giftwrapped to Daniel Briere who assisted on all three Sabres scores. The Devils mounted a late third period comeback, but lost the game 3-2. Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla is looking like an MVP right now. Iginla had a 4 point evening (2 goals, 2 assists) to help lift the Flames over the Minnesota Wild 5-2 last night. The New York Rangers defeated the bottom dwelling Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 last night to extend their winning streak to four games. The Rangers pulled into a tie with the Devils for first place in the Atlantic Division. Rangers rookie Jarkko Immonen scored a goal and an assist on the evening. The Vancouver Canucks hammered the Phoenix Coyotes 5-1 last night, and spoiled the return of defenceman Ed Jovanovski to his former home arena. Stache's Fantasy Boy (I mean that in the best way possible...no seriously) Joe Pavelski potted two more goals last night for the San Jose Sharks as they defeated their rivals the Los Angeles Kings 3-1.
I'd like to send my best wishes to Phil Kessel and his entire family. Kessel underwent cancer related surgery yesterday. Get well soon Phil!
Game of the Night:
Anaheim at Atlanta 7:00 PM
The Anaheim Ducks continue their so far very successful road trip out East as they visit the Atlanta Thrashers tonight. Atlanta has a commanding lead on the Southeast division and are second only to the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference.
I've decided to begin a little contest here at Playoff Beard. It's pretty simple. Pick the player on the evening to score three goals, and join the NHL Hat Trick Club, and you will recieve a drawing of that player, or a player of your choice, drawn by yours truly. That being said...look for Sidney Crosby to join the HTC against Philadelphia tonight! Enjoy the games my friends.....and put your mother on speaker.
Last night's matchup between Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was a reunion of sorts for sophomores Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin who battled all of last season for the Calder Trophy, which Ovechkin eventually took home.
Both superstar rookies from last season were overshadowed by Ovechkin's Russian Olympic teammate, and this year's rookie phenom, Pittsburgh Penguin Evgeni Malkin. Malkin scored the game tying goal in regulation, and set up Sidney Crosby for another score. The Penguins fought back from a 4 goal defecit to tie the game and force overtime, and the eventual shootout.....a place that has not been friendly to the Penguins this season.
Malking went on to score the game winner in the shootout for the Penguins, and goaltender Marc Andre Fleury stopped the remaining two Cap shooters, after Ovechkin opened the scoring.
After the game, Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin, and Olaf Kolzig both admitted they stopped playing when they recorded the 4 goal lead, and allowed the Penguins the opportunity to fight back into the game. Ovechkin set up Capitals captain Chris Clark for the second and third scores, and had a physical game for his team. Both Crosby and Malkin ended the game with a goal and assist each. Evgeni Malkin now leads all rookies in goals with 15. He has 15 helpers as well for 30 points on the year so far.
Judging by their play last night, and in recent games, it's more than fair to say that the Capitals and Penguins have an opportunity to make the post season this year. The Capitals currently sit in the final playoff spot in the East with 33 points, while the Penguins are in 9th with 31 points (currently tied with Ottawa and Toronto....and Toronto will most likely end the season with 31 points).
Quick Shave:
If you can't stand the heat. Fire the Kitchen. That's the St. Louis Blues motto. The Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen in favor of former Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray, in the hopes that he can revive a team that currently sits dead last in the NHL with 18 points. The Philadelphia Flyers have waived forward Petr Nedved for the second and most certainly the last time this season. Nedved has 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists), and is a -20 rating in 21 games this season. San Jose Sharks goaltender Vesa Toskala stopped 23 shots to lift his club to a 4-0 shutout win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The third shutout for Toskala this season, and the 6th by the Sharks tandem of Nabokala.....or Toskalov. Stache's Fantasy Recommendation, Joe Pavelski scored his 5th goal in 9 games....still worth the pickup if he's in your leagues. Is it possible for the Carolina Hurricanes goalie John Grahame to start a game without letting a goal in the opening minute? Yes. Last night against the Colorado Avalanche were unable to score until the second minute of the game.....good job Johnny! The Hurricanes did eventually grab the lead 2-1 early in the third on a goal by Justin Williams (and assist by Grahame believe it or not!), but did themselves in with too many penalties. The Avalanche converted three power play opportunities to win the game 5-2. Nashville Predators rookie Alex Radulov has officially earned a spot with the big club after scoring 8 goals in his first 16 games. If he is available in your fantasy league he is definitely worth the look.
Game of the Night:
Buffalo at New Jersey 7:00 PM
Columbus at Dallas 8:30 PM
Buffalo and Jersey for obvious reasons.....both teams are on top of their games. Game 2, is to see how the Blue Jackets fare against a real team. Ottawa was a big step, but I still think they are flawed.....Dallas has had some injury problems, but Turco has been back on his game, so finding offence will be difficult. Oh, Havlat will join the HTC tonight against the St. Louis Blues. Enjoy the games my friends.....it's so easy a therapist can do it!
"When a coach gets fired and the slate's clean, it's really on the players. I said before I took the job I thought there was a good spirit. We needed to gain some confidence by getting a couple of wins."
That's what Ken Hitchcock said two days ago....I wonder what he's saying today? Hitchcock who was fired by the Philadelphia Flyers early in the season after they tripped out of the gate, was quickly scooped up by the Columbus Blue Jackets just a few weeks later. The Blue Jackets were a team many thought (including the Bosher) would finally break the post season bubble, but ended up playing way below expectations and losing 15 of their first 20. Ken Hitchcock has found a way to motivate the potential-ladened team and got them believing they can win. And win they have.
Hitchcock obviously painted his face half-blue, charged into the Jackets locker room on horse back, and delivered his best William Wallace speech....the result has been a four game winning streak.
The players thus far credit the new system that Coach Hitchcock has installed, but they have been executing. Especially the goaltenders, specifically Fredrik Norrena. In the recent 4 game winning streak, the Blue Jackets have surrendered only 3 goals, and put 18 past their opponents.
Last night's match against the Ottawa Senators was perhaps their biggest test so far, and the Blue Jackets answered the bell. The Senators offered up 11 power play opportunities and the Blue Jackets cashed in on 5 of them. Jackets star forward Rick Nash potted the opening two goals, and Dan Fritshe added two more as they went on to defeat the Sens 6-2.
Pascal Leclaire who had been riding the bench in favor of upstart Norrena for the past three games, had a solid two periods, turning aside 19 shots before leaving late in the second period with a leg injury. Norrena went on to complete the win. Columbus' next big test comes appropriately against Ken Hitchcock's other former team, the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, where I'm sure many eyes will be focused. If they keep riding this wave of confidence, there is little doubt this team will climb back into the playoff hunt, and achieve that elusive first post season berth.
Quick Shave: The Chicago Blackhawks got a couple of early Christmas presents. Last night injured forward Martin Havlat returned to lineup this week, and last night scored a goal and assisted on another to help the Hawks to a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Since returning, in the two games he's played so far, Havlat has 3 goals and 2 assists. The Blackhawks' good news didn't stop there, as they signed unrestricted free agent forward Peter Bondra. Bondra could be in the lineup for Tuesday nights game agains the St. Louis Blues, and sits 2 goals shy of joining the 500 club. The New York Rangers have their first three game winning streak of the season, after shutting down the Florida Panthers 2-1. Kevin Weekes was in net for the blue shirts and made 23 saves on the night. Martin Straka set up both Ranger goals and extended his point scoring streak to 10 games, a career best.
Game of the Night:
Pittsburgh at Washington 7:00 PM
Crosby! Ovechkin! Malkin! Oh my! Tonights game features when rookies clash, and I'm sure will be the premiere game on In the Tent with Clement ! It will be great to see how these two sophmores, and potential rookie of the year match up! Enjoy the games!
The Calgary Flames won their ninth straight home game with their 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames pounced on the Canucks early who had played the evening prior against the Carolina Hurricanes to take a 4-1 lead.
Jarome Iginla scored his his 16th goal of the season and added two assists on goals by Alex Tanguay and Dion Phaneuf. Kristian Huselius, and Matthew Lombardi also scored. Lombardi who I picked up off of waivers yesterday scored the game winner, which would have been great if I had started him, but sadly I did not.....cuz I suck.
Vancouver did mount a third periord comeback, and drew within one goal, but the Flames weathered the storm and sealed the win on Tanguay's empty netter. Vancouver Canucks goalkeeper Roberto Luongo, who was supposed to be the panacea for the their goaltending woes was lifted after surrendering his fourth goal on 24 shots.
Quick Shave:
Believe it or not, the Columbus Blue Jackets have themselves a bonafide winning streak going, that has now hit three games after last night's 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Backup goaltender, Fredrik Norrena who has started all three games has only surrendered one goal during that span, and appears to have taken command of the starting goalie position over Pascal Leclaire. They face the Ottawa Senators today, so it will be interesting to see how the team responds, and who Hitch leans on in net. The New York Rangers played perhaps their most complete game of the season yesterday as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-1. The Senators came out physical, which began with a devestating hit by Chris Neil on defencemen Michael Rosizval and the Rangers responded in kind. Henrik Lundqvist was amazing in net, stopping 34 of the 35 shots he face, and Jaromir Jagr netted the game-winner with his patented crossing the circles to wrist shot move that he does so often now.....and scores regularly on. It was the Buffalo Sabres turn to nip the Montreal Canadiens this time, and the Sabres took the 3-2 win by way of shootout. These two teams, are so well matched and provide some of the best hockey I've seen this season. Speed, defense and great goaltending. Habs defenceman Sheldon Souray left the game midway through the third after being hit by Buffalo's Paul Gaustad.....the injury sustained thus far is being labeled an 'upper body' injury. At least it's not a groin. Ok, I think it's time to start ringing the alarms in Toronto (like they haven't been ringing since this summer), the Leafs are going down the toilet fast. Last night the Detroit Red Wings completely outclassed them, and converted 5 powerplay goals to crush the Leafs 5-1. The Toronto Maple Leafs have now lost seven games in a row, and the wheels have really come off this one. The San Jose Sharks Jonatahn Cheechoo almost joined the NHL HTC again last night but fell a goal short. The Sharks went on to defeat the Nashville Predators 3-1. The New York Islanders defeated the Florida Panthers in the shootout to take the win 5-4 last night. Good news out of the Island, is the center Alexei Yashin who's missed the last few weeks with a knee injury has begun skating with the team again and could be back on the ice as early as Friday's match against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Welcome to the Hat Trick Club Mark Parrish! Anyone call that one? The Minnesota Wild forward netted three goals including the game winner in overtime to lift his team over the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4. Pavol Demitra returned to the lineup for the Wild and added a goal and two assists. The Pittsburgh Penguins decided to effectively end the game against the Atlanta Thrashers before it got to the shootout....where they haven't been too successful, and did so. Colby Armstrong scored the game winner for the Penguins late in the extra period to give his team the 4-3 win.
I'd just like to send my best out to Montreal's Bob Gainey and his family, whose daughter is currently missing after being washed overboard during a storm on Friday night. I'm sure everyone's thoughts are with you and her, and she returns safely.
Game of the Night:
Ottawa at Columbus 6:00 PM
Ottawa isn't playing great, but they are playing much better than at the start of the season, and they are more than a fair bench test for the Columbus Blue Jackets. I want to see if this Blue Jackets team is for real....kind of like how I wanted to see if the Capitals were for real last Friday until the Ducks slapped them around for 60 minutes. This is a 'let's see' match...and even though most of you are not 100% in love with my tone right now.....Enjoy the games!
Has anyone else noticed that the goaltenders have been putting on a clinic this week? The number of shutouts has been impressive, if not stunning. The new rules instituted a year ago were supposed to produce more offence, but these titans of the crease have had other plans this year. The NHL should considering nominating only goaltenders as the Stars of the Week. Below are a list of the possible candidates.
Just last night, the New Jersey DevilsMartin Brodeur shut down the Philadelphia Flyers, making 28 saves for the 2-0 victory. The shutout was Brodeur's fourth of the season, and the 84th of his career. The win, also tied him with Glen Hall for third place overall on the shutout list.
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Dwayne Roloson stopped all 22 shots the Dallas Stars fired at him last night, for the 2-0 shutout victory, and the second straight win by way of shutout this week. The shutout was the 21st of his career.
Dallas Stars keeper Marty Turco, also had a pair of shutouts this week. Turco made 25 saves against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night for to lift his team to the 1-0 win, then two nights later blanked the Phoenix Coyotes for the 3-0 shutout win.
The Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere stopped all 21 Nashville Predator shots he faced on Wednesday night to secure the 4-0 shutout victory for his team. The win was his fourth this season by way of shutout.
The Columbus Blue Jackets backup goalie (although maybe not for much longer), Fredrik Norrena made an amazing 42 saves against the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday night, and helped the Blue Jackets to a 3-0 shutout win. What's more amazing, is that he was coming off of a 21 save, 4-0 shutout performance against the Edmonton Oilers Saturday night.
The Calgary Flames man between the pipes Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes for the 3-0 shutout win. Kiprusoff is tied with Broduer, Giguere, Lehtonen, and Hasek with 4 shutout wins.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Marc Denis rebounded behind an offensive explosion that his teammates provided, by stopping all 21 shots the Atlanta Thrashers tossed at him, to seal the 8-0 shutout win. The victory had to be a moral one for Denis who has all but lost his job to backup Johan Holmqvist.
Game of the Night:
NY Rangers at Ottawa 3:00 PM
Buffalo at Montreal 7:00 PM
Vancouver at Calgary 10:00 PM
I give you an appetizer, the main course, and some desert. We get ourselves a great early game in the afternoon matchup between the Rangers and Sens, followed by the rematch of a week ago between the Habs and Sabres, where both goaltenders put on a show, but Huet proved to be the winner, and finally a matchup between a Vancouver team that looks like they discovered their offence last night, and a Calgary team that also shutdown the champs a few nights ago. Grab your brew Ha Has and the remote, it's Hockey Night in Canada! May the beard be with you!
Who says Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice? The Atlanta Thrashers never will. The Tampa Bay Lightning struck them for 8 goals last night.
Struck by a recent losing streak that had four games, the Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back hard against an Atlanta Thrashers team that offered little resistance, and plenty of power play opportunities, of which the Lightning cashed in on two. Vincent Lecavalier opened the scoring for the Lightning, and then scored again, and again, handing his club a 3-0 lead midway through the first, and completing his application for admission to the NHL Hat Trick Club. His membership was quickly accepted. The Lightning never looked back after the first goal, and pounded the Thrashers netminders with 38 shots. Lehtonen allowed 5 goals on 30 shots, and Hedberg let the final 3 goals in on just 8 shots. Martin St. Louis had an impressive evening as well, scoring 4 points including a shorthanded goal late in the game.
With all of the firepower on the ice, it was easy to overlook the rebound performance by Tampa Bay goaltender Marc Denis who stopped all 21 shots the Thrashers threw at him to secure the shutout win 8-0.
Quick Shave: Montreal Canadiens Captain Saku Koivu took advantage of the New York Islanders special on power plays last night by scoring on two of them, to help the Habs to a 4-2 victory. Canadiens goaltender Cristobal Huet made 25 saves on the night. The Toronto Maple Leafs still refuse to play 60 minutes of hockey and completely imploded in the third period again last night, this time to the Boston Bruins. The Bruins scored three times in the third to take their fifth victory in six games 3-1. The Maple Leafs are on a downward spiral, and have now lost six in a row. The Florida Panthers stunned the Buffalo Sabres with a 3-1 victory last night. What's really stunning is that Panthers keeper Alex Auld, only had to make 17 saves to hold on for the win, while Ryan Miller was forced to make 35. That's why we play the game. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2 last night by way of shootout....again. The Wild have won 7 of the 9 shootouts they have participated in, in large part to forwards Brian Rolston (who often employs the straight up slapshot to deke-ing goaltenders) and Mikko Koivu, younger brother of Habs captain Saku. New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist rebounded from a miserable performance against the Isles on Sunday, to shutdown the Pittsburgh Penguins in the shootout. Brendan Shanahan scored the game tying goal, and the game winner in the shootout to help the Rangers to the 3-2 win. Shanahan now leads the league with 21 goals. Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore returned for an inured hip flexor (pretty certain on that.....could have been a groin) with a solid night in net, including a stop on San Jose Sharks forward Mike Grier penalty shot (one of three penalty shots last night, Radek Dvorak had one for St. Louis, he missed, and Nils Ekman for Pittsburgh had one that he cashed in on). The Avs got 2 goal games from both Brett Clark, and Joe Sakic, to take the win 5-2.
Game of the Night:
Anaheim at Washington 7:00 PM
I really want to see if the Washington Capitals are for real, and what better way to test this four game winning streak of theirs than by putting it up against the monsters of the West? Enjoy the games, and enjoy Scott Gomez join the HTC against Philly tonight!
A campaign to get Vancouver defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick selected to the 2006-2007 All Star game in Dallas this year is well underway, and rapidly gaining momentum. Rory Fitzpatrick is currently ranked fifth among all defensemen in the All Star Balloting behind only Scott Niedermayer, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger, and Dion Phaneuf. This has to be one of the greatest mobilizations of fans I've ever seen, and if things continue in this manner, Rory will be lacing up his skates in late January to represent his team, and most importantly his fans. To find out more visit the official site at www.voteforrory.com.
Well two titans clashed last night.....and the Anaheim Ducks were the clear victor. The Ducks are fulfilling all of the pre-season prophecies that they would be the front runners in the 2006-2007 NHL season by continuously lining teams up, and repeatedly knocking them down. Their latest victim. The Nashville Predators.
The Nashville Predators after starting the season on a dreadful note, quickly turned things around and rocketed to the top of the Central Division. The Anaheim Ducks have been on top since the start and reminded the Predators of that last night. Ducks forward Teemu Selanne had another two goal evening (just missing the HTC), and rising stars Ryan Getzlaf (Getzlaf has scored 5 in his last 8 games) and Chris Kunitz (had a 4 point evening, assisting on the three goals he didn't score) added scores as well. Goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere once again shut the doors stopping all 21 shots the Predators fired at him to secure the 4-0 win. Is there little doubt that this team won't be contending for th Cup this year?
Quick Shave:
Marty Turco hasn't allowed a goal in 2 games! The Dallas Stars goaltender made 25 saves for the second straight game, for his second straight shutout, this time against the offensive giant Phoenix Coyotes. The Stars won 3-0. The Washington Capitals have won four straight! No really. What's more impressive is the teams they have defeated on that run. Tampa Bay (ok, not that impressive), Dallas, Buffalo, and last night the Ottawa Senators 6-2. Here's the question. Are their opponents taking them too lightly, or is this a taste of things to come in Washington? Perhaps we are viewing a preview of the future of this franchise. The Edmonton Oilers got a small measure of revenge last night in the playoff rematch against the Carolina Hurricanes. Coach MacTavish even started the Oilers Jussi Markkanen who played 6 of the 7 games in the finals in relief of the injured Roloson, and it payed off. Markkanen made 28 saves to help lift his team to a 3-1 win over the reigning Stanley Cup Champs. It looked as though the New Jersey Devils weren't going to score again last night, and the Montreal Canadiens had the game in the bag. The Devils however waited till the waning minutes of the third to tie the game, and Patrik Elias waited till the final seconds of overtime to help the Devils to a 2-1 victory.
The great Joe Nieuwendyk officially announced his retirement yesterday. The Florida Panthers has been hampered by a back injury for the past few seasons, and this season it has finally taken its toll. Nieuwendyk has played 15 of the 29 games the Panthers have played this season recording 8 points. In his 20 seasons in the NHL Niewendyk has scored 1126 points (564 goals, and a whole bunch of assists), and won the Stanley Cup three times with Calgary, Dallas, and New Jersey. Congratulations on an amazing career Joe, you will be missed!
Game of the Night:
Montreal at NY Islanders 7:30 PM
Both teams will be looking to rebound from tough losses, and aside from their recent bumps in the road have been playing top notch hockey. TOP NOTCH TOP NOTCH! So, as always my sometimes mistaken for chewbacca looking friends.....enjoy the games!
December 6th Show
We're getting in the holiday season by giving the gift of us. We'll give you all the injuries from the week that was and how it'll affect your team. Lyle Richardson from Spector's Hockey will join us to talk about how the Canucks and Oilers hope to get more scoring on the board, while Pavel Datsyuk's name roams around the rumor mill. We'll get the lowdown on the WHL and we'll talk about the World Junior Championship which starts at the end of the month. The NHL is raising it's cap; we'll tell you how much and which teams will benefit. All that plus the AO hit and Jimmy Chunkybutter.
Calgary Flames forward Daymond Langkow scored within the first minute of last nights match and effectively ruined the first game of the Carolina Hurricanes roadtrip. Langkow's goal would be all the Flames needed (even though they got two more) as they shutdown, and shutout the Hurricanes 3-0.
Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves to get his fourth shutout of the season. Langkow's goal and assist on Iginla's empty netter later in the game extended his point scoring streak to six games, and the Flames win streak to three games. Daymond Langkow now has 8 goals and 15 assists in 25 games, and is a +2. He is probably still available in most leagues (I've seen him in mine) and is definitely a great roster replacement for that sentimental Jeremy Roenick pick up.....man that stings.
Quick Shave: Buffalo Sabres forward Daniel Briere joined the NHL HTC for the first time in his career last night. Briere's three goals, helped the Sabres easily put down the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 last evening. Costly win for the Ottawa Senators? The Ottawa Senators are officially back, and starting to win game in bunches (and against quality opponents) and last night took it to the New York Islanders 4-2. Unfortunately, they lost their captain Daniel Alfredsson to a leg injury in the third period. The Toronto Maple Leafs blew a 2-0 lead over the Atlanta Thrashers last night in the third period and lost 5-2. Maple Leaf fans are still booing. Goaltending controversy in Columbus? Backup Fredrik Norrena started his second game in a row over Pascal Leclaire and stopped 42 Colorado Avalanche shots to give the Columbus Blue Jackets the 3-0 shutout victory. His second shutout in two games (he prevented the Oilers from scoring in the Saturday evening 4-0 win).
Game of the Night:
Montreal at New Jersey 7:30 PM
Carolina at Edmonton 9:30 PM
Nashville at Anaheim 10:00 PM
These all look pretty tasty to me. Especially the last two. The Carolina Hurricanes return to Rexall Place for the first time since the Stanley Cup Finals, and the second place Nashville Predators face off agains the first place Anaheim Ducks. Enjoy the games!
The Vancouver Canucks sale to Aquilini Investment Group was approved by the NHL yesterday, which now means the franchise is now entirely locally owned. The sale has done little to improve the Canucks inability to find the back of the net.
The effort was there last night, the Vancouver Canucks posted 36 shots against the Edmonton Oilers last night, but Dwayne Roloson turned everyone of those aside. The Oilers only shot 18 times, but Horcoff, Tjarnqvist, Lupul and Torres made them all count helping Roloson to his 20th career shutout. The Oilers went on to win 4-0.
So what's up with Vancouver? Why can't they score? Do Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison miss Todd Bertuzzi that much? The Canucks were unable to cash in on any of their power play opportunities last night, which the Oilers handed out often. Their powerplay is currently ranked 27th in the league and is an indicator that they miss the big man in front of the crease. The answers will need to come soon, as they are barely hanging on to the last play off spot in the West.
Quick Shave: The Dallas Stars' Marty Turco got back in the win column last night stopping all 25 shots the San Jose Sharks threw at him, and making Mike Modano's goal stand up for the 1-0 victory. The 26th shutout of Turco's career ended the Sharks 5 game winning streak. The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens decided not to play defense last night and lit up the score board with 11 goals. The Bruins got the extra one, defeating the Habs 6-5. Cristobal Huet let in 4 goals on 16 shots and was pulled in the second for David Aebischer. It looks like Huet may be a little exhausted after taking the bulk of the starts for the Canadiens over the past few weeks. A rest may be in order. The giant in the desert that is the Phoenix Coyotes claimed their latest victim in the Nashville Predators last night. The Coyotes broke a 2-2 tie midway through the third on a Patrick Fischer goal to win the game 3-2. The Carolina Hurricanes activated Cory Stillman and he is expected to be in the lineup against Calgary tonight. If he's still available in your fantasy leagues he's worth picking up. The Salary Cap is on the rise? According to Ted Saskin, the current increase in revenues should give GM's more room to manuever next season (or completely destroy their rosters by overpaying players) as the salary cap could go up to $47.5 million per team.
Game of the Night:
Ottawa at NY Islanders 7:30 PM
Carolina at Calgary 9:00 PM
Ottawa and New York should be a great game. It's time to see who's for real. The reigning Cup Champs take a trip out West, and hopefully ice Cory Stillman tonight in Calgary. And for you fans of Brett....
Detroit at St. Louis 8:00 PM
The St. Louis Blues will hang Hull's number 16 from the rafters tonight. The former Blue and Red Wing will be honored and then watch his two former clubs face off. Enjoy the games!
The opening match of the season between two of the greatest rivals in the NHL began last night, and provided lot's of offence, little goaltending, and even less defense.
The Islanders showed up for the first period. The Rangers didn't. The Rangers showed up in the second. The Islanders didn't. The third period became a duel between Islanders forward Vktor Kozlov, and Rangers forward Brendan Shanahan. Both players joined the NHL Hat Trick club. Viktor Kozlov scored 4 goals on the evening, scoring the final two goals of the game, to complete a 7-4 win over the New York Rangers and take sole command of first place Atlantic Place.
Goaltender Rick DiPietro made 39 saves on the evening, although he allowed the Rangers back into the game during the second, the Islanders took the lead late in the second and never looked back. DiPietro is sporting an impressive playoff beard of late and the Islanders have won 5 of their last 7 games. Coincidence? Or Playoff Beard Phenomenon?
The Islanders look outstanding, and for a team that played in Pittsburgh the evening prior really took it to the Rangers. The Rangers appear to be collapsing into that no defensive responsiblity mode they were playing in during the start of the season. They need to protect their end of the ice better and stop allowing so many scoring opportunities. The Islanders and Ted Nolan, should keep doing what they are doing, and Kozlov seems to be thriving in the center position in relief of the injured Alexei Yashin.
Quick Shave:
The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Anaheim Ducks last night 3-2. L.A. forward Alexander Frolov had yet another 2 goal performance, and Dan Cloutier made 27 saves and helped take the second game of the home and home from their state rivals. Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov who just came back from the IR, re-injured himself midway through the 3rd period and was replaced by Giguere.
Game of the Night:
Boston at Montreal 7:00 PM
Let's give Boston a look tonight. The Bruins have played better this season after a dreadful start, and goaltend Tim Thomas is the latest hero between the pipes in Boston. The Habs are playing great, and coming off an emotional come from behind victory over the Leafs. Enjoy the games my friends!
The Washington Capitals took it to the Buffalo Sabres. I mean really. Not only did the Capitals offence explode for 7 goals (4 of which came in the opening period, which saw Sabres keeper Ryan Miller chased in favor of Biron), but Alexander Ovechkin decked Buffalo Sabres Daniele Briere from behind, forcing Briere face first into the boards in front of the Sabres bench. Ovechkin was given a game misconduct for the hit, and ejected from the game.
The ejection was the first of Ovechkin's career, and the Capitals were forced to play more than half the game with out their leading goal scorer who potted the 17th of the season earlier in the match. Buffalo Sabres' Paul Gaustad and Adam Mair were also given game misconducts for exacting revenge on Ovechkin for the hit. Talk of a suspension for Ovechkin was rampant on Hockey Night in Canada so it will be interesting to see how Campbell plays this one.
Quick Shave:
Ok. I take it back. It's time to get excited about the Ottawa Senators. Not because they hammered the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2. No. Because of that amazing goal by Ottawa forward Antoine Vermette. Vermette did his best Marek Malik imitation, scoring in close on Johan Holmqvist by shooting between his legs. Vermette added another later in the game to seal the victory for the Sens. The Montreal Canadiens rallied back from a 3-1 defecit in the third period to force overtime and a shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Saku Koivu scored twice in the third to tie the game, and Cristobal Huet shut the doors on the Leafs in the shootout to steal the win 4-3. The injury bug has begun to hit the Edmonton Oilers. After losing Ales Hemsky earlier in the week to a shoulder injury, forward Ryan Smyth fractured his thumb against the Columbus Blue Jackets last night. The Blue Jackets went on to win the game 4-0. The San Jose Sharks clipped the Detroit Red Wings with a goal late in third period by Joe Pavelski. Really late actually. Pavelski scored with less than 6 seconds left in the game to win 3-2. The Sharks have now won 5 in a row. San Jose Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo returned from IR. The other juggernaut in California, the Anaheim Ducks also won their 5th straight by defeating the Los Angeles Kings yesterday 4-3. Teemu Selanne scored two in the game, and is on fire since breaking the 500 goal bubble. It's the Erik and Eric show in Carolina. Cole scored one, and Staal tried for the HTC (no really Stache, I double checked bro!) but he was only able to bury two. The Carolina Hurricanes went on to defeat the Boston Bruins 5-2.
Game of the Night:
NY Islanders at NY Rangers 5:00 PM
OH YEAH IT'S ON!! This game is so different than in the past. For the first time in perhaps 15 years, both the Rangers and the Islanders are icing competitive teams and meet for the first time this season at Madison Square Garden! Does it get better than this? Only if you get some Molson trapped in your goatee and find it later during the game....otherwise NO WAY! Enjoy the games beard bandits!
The final match of the season series between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers was probably the most entertaining to date. The city of Buffalo once again mired in bad weather (along with the most of the country, fought off mother nature throughout the game. Failing lights, and lost broadcasts didn't stop the two squads from putting on another great show.
Unfortunately for the New York Rangers, they weren't able to climb over the hump that is the Buffalo Sabres. Blown out in the first game, the Rangers responded with two great efforts but ended up losing both in overtime. Tonight, the Rangers rallied from a 2 goal defecit provided by Buffalo Sabres Hecht and Campbell to tie the game, and then take the lead on two quick powerplay goals by Nylander and Straka. Martin Straka has been unbelievable this season and a fantasy owner's dream. He has 28 points on the season (14 goals, 14 assists) and is a +13. Not bad for a guy who was considering retirement over the summer. Buffalo Sabres clutch forward Chris Drury tied the game at 3 a piece minutes later, and the game would remain that way till the inevitable shootout.
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller closed the door and stopped all three shooters and Daniel Briere beat Kevin
Weekes to secure the 4-3 win. The next time the two teams will meet will hopefully be in the playoffs. If it does come down to that perhaps the Rangers will finally find a way to beat this team.
Rangers rookie Ryan Callahan made his first ever NHL appearance tonight after making alot of noise with the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL. Callahan has scored 21 points in 19 games with the Rangers affiliate this season.
Jaromir Jagr had two assists on the evening, and now trails only Marian Hossa of Atlanta for the NHL scoring lead.
Quick Shave:
With all the focus on groin injuries this season, it's amazing that the most fragile groin in the league has quietly moved into a tie for the best GAA in the NHL (according to NHL.com). Detroit Red Wings goalie Dominik Hasek made 20 saves last night to shutout the Minnesota Wild 3-0. The shutout was the 72nd of his career. The Minnesota Wild, much like the Chicago Blackhawks have been hampered by injuries to their star players Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra, and have lost 11of their last 15 games. The New Jersey Devils found their scoring touch. Finally! The Devils who couldn't buy a goal out West, lit up the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 last night. Pittsburgh rookie Evegeni Malkin was named the Rookie of the Month for November, for the second month in a row. The last time a rookie did pulled that off was by Flyers goalie Ron Hextall in 1986. Malkin had 13 points (7goals, 6 assists) in November. The St. Louis Blues will retire Brett Hull's number 16 next Tuesday night when they face off against the Detroit Red Wings.
Game of the Night:
San Jose at Detroit 7:00 PM
Big night tonight, but these two heavyweights are obviously the special on the menu tonight. May I also suggest a fine aged brew to accompany your game? Enjoy the games my friends!
Before I begin.....allow me a moment to make a request. NHL Center Ice, please for the Love of Jagr....please, please, please change that porn music you play during the intermissions. It is killing me!!! I started it humming it to myself today, so your master plan to take over my mind has been realized. Please pick some new music.....anything! Thank you.
Last night, Marian Hossa joined the exclusive organization known only as the NHL Hat Trick Club as he peppered the Toronto Maple Leafs with three goals, and a helper to fully annihilate our friends from the North 5-0. Oh. Did I mention Mr. Hossa's teammate and goaltender Kari Lehtonen stopped all 36 shots thrown at him to also contribute to the Atlanta Thrasher's win? No? Well I just did.
According to TSN.ca, Hossa has had a difficult time scoring against the Leafs in his past, I wonder if this was because of the unfortunate incident that occurred when his stick punctured Bryan Berard's eye many years ago. If you remember, it took Hossa some time to recover from that as a player. He didn't become the prolific forward that he is today, untill two seasons later. Regardless, he seems to have beaten whatever demons he may have had with the Leafs last night, and now leads the NHL scoring race with 39 points.
The shutout was Lehtonen's fourth of the season, and the loss was the third straight for Toronto.
Quick Shave:
The Ottawa Senators dumped the Florida Panthers last night 6-0, but I think it's way too early for anyone to get excited about this team. They are still hovering around .500 and have yet to show any consistency. Heatley had 2 goals against the Panthers, who he used to join the HTC last week. Just a few days after being verbally trashed, and benched by his coach Wayne Gretzky, Ladislav Nagy returned to score a goal and 3 assists to help the Phoenix Coyotes defeat the Los Angeles Kings 7-4. Now all Gretzky has to do is bench the entire team next game, and tell the press they all suck after the game.....then it's Stanley Cup City! Washington Capitals keeper Olaf Kolzig made 365 saves last night to help his team defeat the Dallas Stars 4-3. How great has Kolzig been this year? Has he faced less than 30 shots in a game this year? I doubt it. This marked the first time that Kolzig has ever defeated the Dallas Stars. Speaking of which, I was kind of joking about a coaching change in Dallas, but has now lost 4 in a row. HMMMMM....does the Captain's theory have legs? or skates? The Pittsburgh Penguins placed former all-star winger John LeClair on waivers yesterday. The 37 year old has certainly fallen from grace since his Legion of Doom line days in Philly. It's doubtful he will be claimed even on re-entry waivers. The Carolina Hurricanes finally found a way to penetrate the Montreal Canadiens wall known as Huet. The Habs keeper was hoping to continue his torrid pace but fell short as they fell to the Hurricanes 4-2. Eric Cole made his bid to join the HTC but was one goal short. The Boston Bruins are quietly stringing victories together and have played about three less games than everyone in the East. Last night they fought back to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 by way of shootout. The Colorado Avalanche destroyed the Edmonton Oilers last night 7-3.....Oilers keeper Dwayne Roloson was chased in the second and Avs forward Tyler Arnason was one shy of joining the NHL HTC. Did Chris Pronger take a dump in every Canadian's bowl of cheerios? Pronger was booed in Vancouver all evening as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Canucks 2-1 last night. I think he was treated worse there than in Edmonton.
Game of the Night:
NY Rangers at Buffalo 8:00 PM
I know the Rangers can do it! They have to beat the Sabres at least once this year! The Sabres have taken all of the previous meetings, and the last two by overtime winners. All I have to say....Jagr joins the HTC tonight. Enjoy the games my friends!
If I were to tell you that the Phoenix Coyotes not only beat the San Jose Sharks last night, but scored 8 goals on them, their goaltender Curtis Joseph stopped all 40 shots he faced, and Jeremy Roenick scored 3 of the Phoenix tallies to join the NHL Hat Trick club.....you'd say Bosh, crack open another Labatt Blue. I would of course be happy to do so.
Quick Shave:
Isn't it terrific when you spend hours sweating over your fantasy roster, weighing your options and finally deciding who you should start, and who should ride the virtual pine.....and then see it all blow up in your face? So last night, I made the decision to sit New Jersey Devils center Scott Gomez, in favor of Anaheim's Andy McDonald, and New York's Michael Nylander......and I am still kicking myself.
The tandem in Philadelphia that had so much success last season finally clicked this season and broke the Flyers 10 game losing streak with a victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night.
The Vancouver Canucks managed to sweep the home and home series against the Calgary Flames....but the second game was almost thrown away.
Is there any doubt in the power of the playoff beard? Joe Thornton started the season on a down note....then he grew a playoff beard. Joe now has 40 points (9 goals, 31 assists) on the season and once again has his San Jose Sharks sitting among the elite in the West, if not the NHL.
Washington at Buffalo 7:00 PM 
NY Rangers at NY Islanders 7:30 PM 
Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 PM 
Friday night's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks was more than a hit in the standings for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Forward Michael Peca was injured following a collision with Blackhawks defenceman Jim Vandermeer. Peca suffered a fractured tibia as a result of the contact.
The Ottawa Senators have lost center Jason Spezza for the next 4-6 weeks due to a knee injury. Spezza sustained the injury after he was hit Thursday night by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis.
The bad news is raining down on Steel Town this week.
Quick Shave:
The Columbus Blue Jackets may have stole a win in Columbus the other night over the Red Wings. The Red Wings made sure that wouldn't happen again. 
Nashville Predators forward Paul Kariya scored both goals for his team last and backup goalie Chris Mason made 28 saves to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 last night. Martin Havlat recorded the lone tally for the Hawks. Predators forward Jason Arnott is back in the lineup again, so you fantasy owners can take him off IR. He has 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) and is a +5 in 21 games this season. The Dallas Stars appear to have themselves a case of Devil-itis. They can't score goals anymore. In fairness however, not many teams are scoring against Jean Sebastien Giguere and the Anaheim Ducks this season (except for those Panthers!). Anaheim forward Corey Perry scored a pair, and the Ducks chased Dallas goalie Marty Turco for the 4-1 win last night. The Ottawa Senators are apparently fighting amongst themselves. Literally. Sens forwards Chris Neil and Antoin Vermette had themselves a scrap yesterday during practice. Ottawa has dropped their last five games. Was I right in saying it was too early to get excited about them? Perhaps. The Philadelphia Flyers, have traded center Randy Robitaille to the New York Islanders for Mike York. Pretty good move for the Flyers, and horrible Christmas present for Mike York, who goes from one of the best teams in the East, to quite possibly the worst in the NHL.
I have to admit at the start of the season I was really worried about Cristobal Huet. He had all of the symptoms early on that would indicate he would be embracing a sophomore slump. The boys on the 
Our very own 
The Chicago Blackhawks could be one of the biggest surprises this season, aside from the total collapse occurring in Philadelphia. While most, including myslef, expected very little from this franchise, even after several big trades that saw them acquire Martin Havlat from Ottawa, and Michal Handzus from Philly, Chicago has weathered some early adversity and appears to be making a push for the post season.
The Ducks met the Sharks last night in what will surely be a playoff matchup this season. The Pacific Division rivals, currently sit first (Ducks) and second (Sharks), and both lead the Western Conference in points.
The Rangers didn't play their best game tonight, but they still pulled off a win against the Dallas Stars last night 5-2. Fortunately for the Rangers, they didn't have to face Dallas' big gun in net Marty Turco.....unfortunate for backup Mike Smith, who started the season well, but has now been torched for 4 goals in two straight outings.
Quick Shave:
Last night's matchup between Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was a reunion of sorts for sophomores Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin who battled all of last season for the Calder Trophy, which Ovechkin eventually took home.
"When a coach gets fired and the slate's clean, it's really on the players. I said before I took the job I thought there was a good spirit. We needed to gain some confidence by getting a couple of wins." 
The Chicago Blackhawks got a couple of early Christmas presents. Last night injured forward Martin Havlat returned to lineup this week, and last night scored a goal and assisted on another to help the Hawks to a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Since returning, in the two games he's played so far, Havlat has 3 goals and 2 assists. The Blackhawks' good news didn't stop there, as they signed unrestricted free agent forward Peter Bondra. Bondra could be in the lineup for Tuesday nights game agains the St. Louis Blues, and sits 2 goals shy of joining the 500 club. The New York Rangers have their first three game winning streak of the season, after shutting down the Florida Panthers 2-1. Kevin Weekes was in net for the blue shirts and made 23 saves on the night. Martin Straka set up both Ranger goals and extended his point scoring streak to 10 games, a career best.
The Calgary Flames won their ninth straight home game with their 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. The Flames pounced on the Canucks early who had played the evening prior against the Carolina Hurricanes to take a 4-1 lead.
The Calgary Flames man between the pipes Miikka Kiprusoff made 23 saves against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes for the 3-0 shutout win. Kiprusoff is tied with Broduer, Giguere, Lehtonen, and Hasek with 4 shutout wins.
Who says Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice? The Atlanta Thrashers never will. The Tampa Bay Lightning struck them for 8 goals last night.
With all of the firepower on the ice, it was easy to overlook the rebound performance by Tampa Bay goaltender Marc Denis who stopped all 21 shots the Thrashers threw at him to secure the shutout win 8-0.
Well two titans clashed last night.....and the Anaheim Ducks were the clear victor. The Ducks are fulfilling all of the pre-season prophecies that they would be the front runners in the 2006-2007 NHL season by continuously lining teams up, and repeatedly knocking them down. Their latest victim. The Nashville Predators.
Quick Shave:
The Vancouver Canucks sale to Aquilini Investment Group was approved by the NHL yesterday, which now means the franchise is now entirely locally owned. The sale has done little to improve the Canucks inability to find the back of the net.
The opening match of the season between two of the greatest rivals in the NHL began last night, and provided lot's of offence, little goaltending, and even less defense. 
The Islanders look outstanding, and for a team that played in Pittsburgh the evening prior really took it to the Rangers. The Rangers appear to be collapsing into that no defensive responsiblity mode they were playing in during the start of the season. They need to protect their end of the ice better and stop allowing so many scoring opportunities. The Islanders and Ted Nolan, should keep doing what they are doing, and Kozlov seems to be thriving in the center position in relief of the injured Alexei Yashin.
Quick Shave:
The final match of the season series between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers was probably the most entertaining to date. The city of Buffalo once again mired in bad weather (along with the most of the country, fought off mother nature throughout the game. Failing lights, and lost broadcasts didn't stop the two squads from putting on another great show.
Before I begin.....allow me a moment to make a request. NHL Center Ice, please for the Love of Jagr....please, please, please change that porn music you play during the intermissions. It is killing me!!! I started it humming it to myself today, so your master plan to take over my mind has been realized. Please pick some new music.....anything! Thank you.
