Hockey Highlighter

Blackhawks Carcillo Suspended For 2 Games For Hit On Pitkanen

2011-10-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

Chicago Blackhawks left winger Dan Carcilllo has been suspended from the next two Blackhawks games following the review of a hit by Carcillo on Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen during the Canes 3-0 win over the visiting Blackhawks. Although the hit was not penalized at the time, it warranted a review by National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety. Carillo has no goals and two assists for 2 points during the 2011-12 season after being left unsigned by the Philadelphia Flyers but joining the Blackhawks at the start of this season. He was serving a two game suspension from the Flyers-Bruins playoff series and had to serve them with Chicago. He will miss the upcoming games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Nashville Predators but will in the lineup when the Blackhawks head to Florida to play the Panthers on November 3. Carillo also gives up $8,378.38 of his salary to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Here are the highlights from the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricane won 3-0 with a couple of third period goals.

Habs Win In Boston And Subban Drops His Gloves

2011-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

In the first game of a home and home series between the defending Stanley Cup winning Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens usually you would take the Bruins given their recent history but you might be tempted to go with the Habs or anybody else over the Bruins early this year and Montreal edged Boston 2-1 dropping Boston into last place in the Northeast Division.

The loss gives Boston a 3-6-0 record after the teams first nine games while Montreal is doing only slightly better with a 3-5-2 record. Both teams are looking up at the high flying Toronto Maple Leafs who remain in first in the division with an impressive 6-2-1 start, but who are we kidding. Everyone expects the Leafs to tank once the rest of the Northeast begins finding their legs.

Blink and you'll miss Boston's only goal which is what Habs goalie Carey Price did. He is quoted as saying "I just Bill Bucknered it," referencing an infamous name in Boston Red Sox circles of the player who cost them the 1986 World Series.

That fluke goal held up until the middle of the second period when Montreal left winger Eric Cole scored his 2nd of the season tipping in a shot from Jaroslav Spacek that beat Tim Thomas. Tomas Plekanec gave the Habs the win with his 3rd goal of the year in the middle of the 3rd.

But then there's the P. K. Subban - Brad Marchand fight which you will find below. I think the only pain Subban gets from this fight would be wind burned knuckles.

The fight went on for a fair amount of time, but although Habs fans will crow about how Subban "stood up" it was kind of a lack luster battle. What do you think of this fight? Subban actually spend a fair bit of time in the penalty box this game getting a holding penalty at 13:47 of the 2nd, followed the next shift by a delay of game call and then the wrestling match with Marchand.

The teams move the battle to Montreal for round two Saturday, October 29. If the Bruins are planning on turning their slow start of the season around, you can bet this will be a spirited affair.

Ducks Take Out Red Wings On A Pair By Joe Thornton

2011-10-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

The Battle of the Birds continues with the Anaheim Ducks beating the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on a two goal performance by Joe Thornton. Wings netminder Jimmy Howard was standing on his head early on but the Ducks are looking like road warriors winning their 4th straight away from home on their current 6 game road trip.

Detroit scored first with Henrik Zetterberg getting his second of the season at 12:20 of the first but the Ducks answered in the second with two of their own. Left winger Ryan Clowe got a power play goal goal early and the Patrick Marleau goal where he chips it over Howard while racing former Ian White to retrieve Douglas Murray's long pass.

Tomas Holmstrom got his first of the year to tie it on a power play goal seven minutes later but then Joe Thornton put Anaheim back into the lead for good with his goal late in the second period. Thornton added an empty net goal after the Red Wings pulled Howard with a minute left.

Ducks netminder Antti Niemi's record improves to 4-1-0 winning 4 in a row after dropping his first start of the season while Jimmy Howard has the same record of 4-1-0 and had his four game winning streak snapped with the loss.

Jaromir Jagr Shows Some Of The Old Flash As He Gets His 1st As A Flyer

2011-10-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

It took him until his 8th NHL game before scoring his first goal in a Philadelphia Flyers uniform but it didn't take Jaromir Jagr long to get his 2nd of the year for his new team as he scored again in the Flyers' 4-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 24, 2011. Jagr was sprung with a break out pass by right winger Claude Giroux and Jagr zipped past the Leafs defence like they were standing still before closing on Jonas Gustavsson and easily beating the netminder with a quick low shot to his blocker side.

Later Jagr gets his 2nd of the season which should put most of those who though Jagr may be getting a little long in the tooth trying to come back to the NHL at age 39 (he'll be 40 next February) after a three year absence when he played in Russia. Here Jagr gets a breakaway and comes in alone almost from center ice and scores the 4th of Philly's goals.

Scott Hartnell also deserves kudos for getting his first two goals of the season including the game winner at 8:34 of the 3rd (assisted by Jagr). A scary moment for the Flyers when team captain Chris Pronger took a stick to the face in the first period from Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski and was forced to leave the game. Pronger will be out of the Flyers lineup for as long as 2-3 weeks.

According to Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren, they are insisting that Pronger start wearing a visor from now on although Pronger has complained that it interferes with his vision. Of course getting a blade in your eye can also have a bad effect on your vision so hopefully Pronger will be able to work that out. I hate seeing players get their careers cut short when they all they need is some protective equipment. Some may not like the idea of wearing a visor, but for some of the jobs it is just good sense to wear them.

Here's the highlights from the Flyers 4-2 win over the visiting Leafs. They don't show the Pronger injury but you see Jagr's and Hartnell's hard work. As a side note, Jagr got his 3rd of the season in the next game against the Montreal Canadiens but the Flyers lost that one 5-1.

Patrick Kane's Spin-O-Rama Pass To Hossa Vs Ducks

2011-10-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

I just had to share this one. Blackhawks' right winger Patrick Kane does a nifty blindside pass after spinning around defenseman Toni Lydman and passes to a wide open Marian Hossa who has a yawning cage to shoot home his 5th of the young season. Just watch.

The goal came midway through the second period to tie the game 1-1. Chicago eventually won the game 3-2 over the Anaheim Ducks with Kane getting the shootout winner. Special mention has to made about the goal by Teemu Selanne at 16:22 of that same period as Selanne got his 640th of his career which puts the Finn into a tie with Dave Andreychuk for 13th Alltime in NHL goal scoring. Selanne also got the only goal for the Ducks during the shootout, but Kane's proved to be the winner.

Nugent-Hopkins Picked Number One Overall By Oilers In 2011 Entry Draft

2011-06-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was picked first overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and the newly re-born Winnipeg Jets chose Mark Scheifele with their seventh overall pick in this year's draft. Here are the selections of each team from the first round.

2011 First Round Draft Selections:

1. Edmonton Oilers – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer WHL)
2. Colorado Avalanche – Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener OHL)
3. Florida Panthers – Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John QMJHL)
4. New Jersey Devils – Adam Larsson (Skelleftea Sweden)
5. New York Islanders – Ryan Strome (Niagara OHL)
6. Ottawa Senators – Mika Zibanejad (Djurgarden Sweden)
7. Winnipeg Jets – Mark Scheifele (Barrie OHL)
8. Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier (Drummondville QMJHL)
9. Boston Bruins – Dougie Hamilton (Niagara OHL)
10. Minnesota Wild – Jonas Brodin (Farjestad Sweden)
11. Colorado Avalanche – Duncan Siemens (Saskatoon WHL)
12. Carolina Hurricanes – Ryan Murphy (Kitchener OHL)
13. Calgary Flames – Sven Bartschi (Portland WHL)
14. Dallas Stars – Jamie Oleksiak (Northeastern NCAA)
15. New York Rangers – J.T. Miller (US NDTP)
16. Buffalo Sabres – Joel Armia (Porin Assat Finland)
17. Montreal Canadiens – Nathan Beaulieu (Saint John QMJHL)
18. Chicago Blackhawks – Mark McNeill (Prince Albert WHL)
19. Edmonton Oilers – Oscar Klefbom (Farjestad Sweden)
20. Phoenix Coyotes – Connor Murphy (US NTDP)
21. Ottawa Senators – Stefan Noesen (Plymouth OHL)
22. Toronto Maple Leafs – Tyler Biggs (US NTDP)
23. Pittsburgh Penguins – Joe Morrow (Portland WHL)
24. Ottawa Senators – Matt Puempel (Peterborough OHL)
25. Toronto Maple Leafs – Stuart Percy (Mississauga OHL)
26. Chicago Blackhaws – Phillip Danault (Victoriaville QMJHL)
27. Tampa Bay Lightning – Vladislav Namestnikov (London OHL)
28. Minnesota Wild – Zack Phillips (Saint John QMJHL)
29. Vancouver Canucks – Nicklas Jensen (Oshawa OHL)
30. Anaheim Ducks – Rickard Rakell (Plymouth OHL)

Bergeron Gets Hat Trick As Bruins Clobber Senators 6-0

2011-01-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

Patrice Bergeron scored 3 times for his first career hat trick as his Boston Bruins rolled over the Ottawa Semators 6-0. Bergeron now has 13 goals to go along with his 19 assists to lead the Bruins in scoring with 32 points. Milan Lucic still leads in the goal scoring department for Boston with 16 on the season, but after his solid start Lucic has only scored once since December 11th.

The win keeps the Bruins 2 points up on their division rivals the Montreal Canadiens who also won last night with a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers, although Boston still has one game in hand on the Habs.

Plays Of the Night For January 4, 2011

2011-01-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick rundown on the games on January 4, 2011 (I'm still having trouble writing "2011" and not "2010").

Minnesota Wild 2 New Jersey Devils 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 1 Washington Capitals 0
Buffalo Sabres 3 Colorado Avalanche 4 Overtime
Detroit Red Wings 5 Edmonton Oilers 3
Columbus Blue Jackets 2 Phoenix Coyotes 4

Yes that was Johan Hedberg in the net for Clayton Stoner's 1st career goal in the Devils-Wild game. New Jersey's woes continue as they are 2-8-0 in their last 10 and 8 points back of the comparatively high-flying Islanders in the Atlantic Division. The Isles also have a couple of games in hand on the Devils who look pitiful at this point. These are dark days for New Jersey fans.

The New Jersey Devils are dead last in the NHL and the 3 teams ahead of them all have games in hand. The Devils just made a coaching change bringing back Lemaire, but if there's no abrupt change freakin' quick, the next step is going to be people getting moved outta Jersey.

That goal by Martin St Louis in the Lightning-Caps game sets up an interesting showdown in tonight's Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh game. Crosby going up against Stamkos. That is one game I would kill to see.

Top Hits Of 2010: Western Conference

2011-01-04T22:44:00.000-08:00

Nice video showing some major crunches. This is not a game for weak of heart. You cross the blue line, you better be prepared to accept a shoulder or hip or even a combination of the two.

Solid, solid checks. Loved that hit on Chipchura by Sharks' Doug Murray and Chicago's Bickle laying out Preds' right winger Patric Hornqvist. Murray gets a little bit of payback as he flips head over skates after a great hip check Hamhuis of the Canucks.

Stamkos Has 4 Points Against Habs, Keeps Pressure On Crosby In Goals Race

2010-12-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know WHAT is wrong with the Montreal Canadaiens these days, but they generally have been sucking bigtime. The Habs lost 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning with Steven Stamkos leading the way with 2 goals and 2 assists to hand the Canadiens their 3rd straight loss.

This loss moves the Canadiens to a 2-8-0 record in their last ten games and firmly mires them far down in the playoff picture in 8th spot, the same spot they held at the end of the 2009-10 season when they barely squeaked into the playoffs. Montreal sits in 2nd in the Northeast Division 3 points back of the Boston Bruins and the Bruins have 2 games in hand on the Habs.

One sore point for Canadiens fans is the lack of offence being produced by center Scott Gomez who has a mere 5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 38 games this season. Not much bang for the buck with Gomez' $8,000,000 a year price tag. And his contract is through the 2013-14 season, although his salary will drop to $5.5 million by then. That is way too much to be paying a player who has had 20 plus goals only once in his career (33 goals in 2005-06 with the Devils) and who rarely makes it into the 60-70 points per season area.

But back to Stamkos. Comparing Gomez at 8 million a year and Stamkos's cheap, cheap, cheap salary of $875,000 must make the Habs mouth water. Stamkos will be due for a major salary hike after next season when his current contract ends.

The two quick goals he scored in the 3rd period keeps Stamkos right on Sidney Crosby's tail in the race for the Maurice Richard Trophy that they shared last season with 51 goals a piece. Do you think that both Crosby and Stamkos are going to easily top that 51 goal mark? Yes, I think so, baring any injury they may be looking at a 60 goal season, but towards the end of the season as defences tighten up with teams keeping an eye on the playoffs it will become increasingly tough to maintain their goal scoring pace.

There's been a lot of interest in how Crosby has been scoring this season with his 25 game point streak, but Stamkos is also having a banner year. Crosby is still 9 points up on 2nd place Stamkos, but Stamkos is slowly closing the gap which was 14 points about a week ago and Stamkos is starting to put some distance between himself and teammate Martin St Louis who sits in 3rd spot with 50 points. St Louis is tracking for only his 2nd ever 100 points season in his 12th NHL season. Tampa Bay may finally be angling for the playoffs for the first time since 2006-07. The Lightning are tied with the Washington Capitals for the lead in the Southeast Division and sporting a 7-1-2 record in their last ten games are heading in the opposite direction of the Montreal Canadiens.

The problem with the Habs is that they cannot score for the life of them. Their team goals against is a perfectly respectable 90 against in 38 games, but that is starting to balloon after starting off the season so well. With goaltender Carey Price looking like he had recovered some of his form from a couple of seasons ago, Montreal was on top of the Northeast, but the wheels have fallen off the "Carey Price For Allstar Game" campaign. Since December 10th, Price has lost 7 of 10 starts with only two of those games keeping the opposition to 2 or under goals and his G.A.A. for his last 10 starts is up to 3.1 which will not win you many games when your team averages 2 goals a game.

Habs Trade Lapierre To Anaheim

On the score sheet, the Habs look like last season's Bruins who had great defence but could not put the puck in the net. It looks like Montreal is starting to make some changes as Maxim Lapierre has just been shipped off to Anaheim for defenceman Brett Festerling (and a 5th round pick in 2012). Festerling will help out on D, but not in the offensive end where the Canadiens are having their most trouble. Festerling has spent most of the season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

Bruins - Thrashers Play Some Old Time Hockey

2010-12-24T00:41:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, the final score was 4-1 for the Boston Bruins over the Atlanta Thrashers, but what everyone wants to see is the brawl late in the 3rd period that resulted in 6 fighting majors along with 5 game misconduct penalties (and a match penalty assessed to Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic).

With the score 4-1 in Boston's favor, Lucic picked up a pass and came steaming in to the Thrashers zone to be met by the two fists of Atlanta defencemen Freddy Meyer in his upper chest with a little bit of a chin massage thrown in for good measure. Lucic looked around for the referee to make a call and then Andrew Ference went after Meyer.

After the game Lucic said that Meyer had done the same thing to him before. "I'm not going to let a guy who never fights do that to me" he stated. Because he was given the match penalty, presumably for the one punch that dropped Meyer to the ice, Lucic is automatically suspended while he waits for a ruling from the Commissioner's office. With Christmas right up in our faces, it is unlikely that there will be word of any further punishment if any until Sunday or Monday at the earliest.

Thornton actually had quite the game, scoring twice and almost getting a hat trick right at the end of the game. You have to shake your head about Marc Savard getting involved in the battle and squaring off with Bryan Little. The announcer was almost wetting himself as Little "pounded" at Savard but mostly didn't connect. Not liking seeing Savard who has a history of concussions taking the chance of an errent blow to the head - better to leave the fisticuffs to Thornton and Lucic.

Big Dustin Byfuglien got the only goal for Atlanta - which would be his league-leading 13th which is the highest for NHL defencemen so far this year and his 37th point (also the most for all defencemen). Here's the full highlights:

The teams will be meeting up again December 30th in Atlanta, but will there be more fireworks? Usually there isn't but you never know. I just know I'll be tuning in to THAT game.

NHL Voids Ilya Kovalchuk's $102 Million Deal With Devils On Cap Grounds

2010-07-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

The National Hockey League has announced that it will not allow the new contract signed by the New Jersey Devils and left winger Ilya Kovalchuk which would have paid him $102 million over the course of the next 17 years. Kovalchuk, 27, joined the Devils mid-season last year as a free agent after eight and a half seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers. According to the deal, he would have earned $6 million over the next 2 seasons, jumping up to $11.5 from 2012 until 2017, dropping to a mere $10.5 the following season. The salary he would have received would continue to have dropped off until Kovalchuk would be earning just $550,000 per season in the final 5 seasons.

The current collective bargaining agreement is set up so that a player's salary come off the salary cap when a player retires after age 35, an age only 8 years off from Kovalchuk's current age. The deal frontloaded his potential salary to lessen the blow the Devils would have to face as he neared retirement from the league.

Kovalchuk has been a solid point getter, averaging more than a point-per-game over his career and was probably the most highly sought-after player at the trade deadline. He has 621 regular season games under his belt, with 338 goals, 304 assists for 642 points. He has seen limited postseason activity, having been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for only 4 games with Atlanta in 2006-07 (1 goal, 1 assist) and 5 games with the Devils in last year's disappointing season for New Jersey. He did have 2 goals and 4 assists in the 5 game loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, marking the 3rd straight season the Devils have failed to advance past the opening round of the playoffs.

Oilers Captain Ethan Moreau Jumps To Columbus Blue Jackets

2010-06-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

After 11 long seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, the last two and a half as Team Captain, Ethan Moreau is leaving the team to join the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In a season that was particularly tough on the Alberta franchise, Moreau had a mere nine goals and nine assists with a minus 4 rating in 76 games in 2009-10.

He joins Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson, formerly an Edmonton Oilers assistant general manager who has lured several former Oilers such as Raffi Torres, Jason Chimera, Michael Peca, Jan Hejda and Mathieu Roy.

Moreau is on the tail end of his 4-year, $8,000,000 contract, 2 million per season. He has had a lengthy career, starting out with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1995-96 season before being traded to Edmonton after 4 seasons in Chicago.

Will some veteran leadership help Columbus climb back into the playoff race. That's the big question. The Blue Jackets have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in 4 of the last 5 years. In the 2008-09 season, the franchise made the playoffs and had an incredible run to the Conference Quarterfinal before losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Oilers have a similar story, having missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year and ending the 2009-10 in dead last position in the league. Edmonton lost the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Finals to the Carolina Hurricanes and failed to reach the post season ever since. The 62 points the Oilers earned last season were unacceptable and changes had to be made. An aging player (Moreau is 34) is not scoring goals on one of the most woeful NHL franchises, and he's the captain to boot? Edmonton needed to drop Moreau's $2,000,000 salary hit this coming year. Edmonton will be using younger, less well known players in the coming season, perhaps 2-3 new players will be added to the team over the coming months, but no names of who the Oilers might be looking for. You can expect some more turnover on the edmonton Oilers before the season starts in a mere three months or so.

What What? Blackhawks Trading Byfuglien, Sopel, Eager To Thrashers

2010-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Fresh off their Stanley Cup parade through the streets of Chicago, word is that the Blackhawks are trading Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, noted tough guy Ben Eager and minor leaguer Akim Aliu to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Atlanta's 24th overall pick in this year's Draft which is just weeks away, along with their 54th pick.

Also included are 33 year old center Marty Reasoner, (4 goals, 13 assists in 80 games and no relation to Harry), and 19-year-old rookie winger Jeremy Morin who was last seen in a Kitchener Rangers uni last season for 58 games (47 goals, 36 assists so this guy is the possible prize in the trade).

What do you think this will do for the 'Hawks? Is this an improvement? Byfuglien was a standout in the Cup run, but had only 17 goals all season. He was on defence and didn't starting crackling until they moved him back up to the winger slot. Nice pickup as far as size goes to the Thrashers, but Chicago with yet another actual sniper is kinda scary.

Halak Sent To St Louis By Canadiens

2010-06-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

After his great play in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs where he basically won the Habs-Caps series by himself, Jaroslav Halak has been shipped by the Montreal Canadiens to the in exchange for forwards Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Halak, along with Mike Cammalleri, basically powered the Habs into the 3rd round where they were stopped by eventual the Stanley Cup finalist Philadelphia Flyers.

Just about everyone expected either Halak or Carey Price to be moved during the off-season as Price had a terrible time down the stretch and pulled early in the playoffs which allowed Halak to have a display great goaltending run. The Washington Capitals and Alexander Ovechkin and then Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins just couldn't beat him and Habs fans lauded Halak as the latest coming of Jacques Plante or Patrick Roy.

But of course, even with his absolutely terrible play (and rather childish antics) the Habs have decided to stick with Price. Obviously they still consider him "the goalie of tomorrow." He certainly didn't show the expected form last season or in the 2008-09 playoffs. One wonders how many "tomorrows" Price has left.

As far as Halak, hopefully he will use this as a building block and have great success with the Blues who are rebuilding and will be much better this year if he shows half the form he had in the Habs run.

Top 10 Plays In 2010 NHL Finals (Video)

2010-06-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Any surprise on what the number one highlight was? Didn't think so. Still nice to see Giroux's overtime goal in there and Byfuglien's hit on Pronger. Still can't believe it's all over for another year. Of course the burning question: will the Chicago Blackhawks be able to defend their Stanley Cup? Will the Philadelphia Flyers get back into contention next year? Will the Leafs make the playoffs? (Sorry about that one).

Dion Phaneuf Named Captain Of Toronto Maple Leafs

2010-06-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

Surprised? No, I didn't think so. I tweeted that Phaneuf would be named Leafs team captain shortly after he was acquired by them. A definite positive move by the Leafs. Are they now Stanley Cup contenders? Ah, not yet. Sorry Leaf Nation.

The Toronto franchise remains mired at the bottom of the heap and although they are on a good track, it could easily be derailed once again. With the Stanley Cup win by the Chicago Blackhawks, the Leafs now inherit the longest Cup drought for those NHL teams that have previously won the big prize. After the Leafs, the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers are looking at the longest period of time since their respective victories. Even the New York Islanders record of four straight is strating to look like ancient history to fans.

But congrats to Phaneuf. May he have much, much more success than their last captain, Mats Sundin, who as many who have agreed to wear the "C" for the Leafs, retired without a Cup victory. Getting back into the post-season show is step one. Getting to the final four (as the surprising Habs managed to do) is the next major step.

Congrats To The Chicago Blackhawks On Winning Stanley Cup

2010-06-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

Like most hockey fans I've been glued to the tube watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs and saw Patrick Kane score the goal that won the Cup for the Chicago Blackhawks. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to keep posting here on Hockey Hightlighter as I should have been doing all through the playoffs. In retrospect, it was a great year for hockey with the Montreal Canadiens shocking both the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins before folding against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Blackhawks had a great run as well, handling the Vancouver Canucks rather easily again and dropping the San Jose Sharks. Now come the summer hockey doldrums. 4 months until the 2010-11 season kicks off.

Top Ten NHL Goals For The Week 30 March 2010

2010-03-31T02:25:00.000-07:00

What in the world is the announcer yelling? "...you fat lard! Come get some dinner!" Then there's Oilers Bobby Nilsson AGAIN with a highlight goal. And Paul Kariya? He's closing in on his 1,000th point - he's got 987 as of today. New Jersey's Zach Parise is deadly around the net.

NHL Rookie Report: Who's Gonna Win The Calder?

2010-03-31T01:37:00.000-07:00

With the teams now down to their final games of the 2009-10 season, which National Hockey League rookie is your choice to win the Calder Trophy? If asked a couple of months ago, just about everyone would have assured me that New York Islanders' left winger John Tavares would have been a lock to take home the Rookie of the Year honours. But right now?

Tavares has slipped to 2nd place overall in the rookie scoring race behind Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene in total points (Duchene has 52 points and Tavares has 45 - and tied with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers). Also, Duchene has moved past Tavares in the goals department as well.

Niclas Bergfors of the Atlanta Thrashers deserves some consideration as he picked up his pace in the latter half of the season following his trade from the New Jersey Devils. The Swedish right winger had 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 54 games for the Devils before being traded to Atlanta in early February along with defenseman Johnny Oduya, junior prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick for 31 year old Ilya Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela. Berfors has been solid in the Thrashers line-up, recording 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists) in the 22 games he's appeared for Atanta. That puts him in a tie with Tavares for 2nd overall in the rookie goal scoring race with 21, two goals back of Duchene.

Then there's a strong case to be made for having a goaltender as this year's choice. Boston Bruins Tuukka Rask leads all rookie netminders in 3 top categories: highest save percentage, goals against average and shutouts. Detroit's Jimmy Howard is way out in the lead for most wins (33) and is 2nd to Rask in the other categories. Howard has appeared in 58 games compared to Rask's 40 appearances.

As far as goalies winning the Calder Trophy, it's not usually in the cards although Andrew Raycroft won the hardware in 2004 and Ed Belfour before him way back in 1991. It's my guess that it will again be a player outside the goal crease this year.

With the Islanders on the outside looking in on this years Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tavares will likely get a lot of votes, but if Duchene and the Avalanche put together any kind of run (right now they look to face the San Jose Sharks in the 1st round) he could snag the trophy. Rask will likely be a bridesmaid this year as even if the Bruins do squeak into the playoffs, they'll look like they won't go very far and the Finnish netminder will not have a chance to shine - although he does have 2 shutouts in this last week, so maybe he is peaking at just the right time for the Bruins.

I'm guessing that Duchene continues playing excellent hockey in his last few games this year that he will take the Calder Trophy, but Tavares will be the guy many will automatically vote for because of all his good press over the last couple of years and his performance in the early-to-mid-season. Duchene needs your consideration NOW when the chips are down and the playoffs are getting ready to begin.

NHL Hits Of The Week 30 March, 2010

2010-03-31T00:37:00.000-07:00

With the regular season winding down, lets take a look at this biggest hits of the past week. Lots of nice crunches - liked the Oshe hit on Holmstrom.

Versus Firmly Has Eye On The NHL Playoffs

2010-02-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

I like this commercial for Versus. It reminds us during the Olympic break that the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs is fast approaching. April 15th is when the 2009-10 playoffs begin.

Wearing Your Country's Uniform ~ USA

2010-02-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Patrick Kane, Brian Rafalski, Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner discuss wearing the uniform of the United States in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The U.S. Mens Olympic Hockey team faces Switzerland TODAY at 3pm eastern standard time. Goalie Ryan Miller is pretty much the key to their success or failure this time around as the US ices a relatively inexperienced team - but do not count the US out.

On defense, they have Rafalski, Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh Penguins), the Johnsons - Jack (L.A. Kings), 23, and Eric (St Louis Blues), 21. Ryan Suter (Nashville Predators) is 25, Ryan Whitney (Anaheim Ducks), 26 and Tim Gleason (Carolina Hurricanes), 27.

Up front, although the US are a little sparce compared to the Russian and Canadian teams, they do possess some great firepower with Kane, Langenbrunner, Parise, Bobby Ryan (Anaheim) and Phil Kessel (Toronto Maple Leafs). There's also Chris Drury (New York Rangers), Ryan Callahan (also from the Rangers), Ryan Malone (Tampa Bay Lightning), Dustin Brown (Kings), and Ryan Kesler (Vancouver Canucks). Lots of "Ryans" on the US team - five in all.

Miller will be important and tough and the backup is Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins) who has struggled of late, but will do well if called upon.

The Canadian Olympic Hockey Team Roster

2010-02-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the Canadian Olympic Mens Hockey Team roster if you are unsure who actually made the team.

Highlights From Thursday February 11th, 2010

2010-02-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

Washington 5 at Ottawa 6
Buffalo 3 at Carolina 4 in overtime
Boston 5 at Tampa Bay 4
Vancouver 3 at Florida 0 Luongo gets 4th shutout of season
San Jose 3 at Detroit 2 shoot out
Dallas 3 at Calgary 1
Edmonton 3 at Los Angeles 2 shoot out