The Olympics are over and the Duck Olympians brought home 7 medals collectively: 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. The only Ducks not to bring home medals were Jonas Hiller and Luca Sbisa, both played for Switzerland. However, it has to be said that Switzerland absolutely scared the crap out of the “big teams.” I also have to point out that Canada and the US had the NHL Dream Teams, while Switzerland had Hiller, Sbisa, Streit and Weber. So, basically 3 NHL players - I’m counting Sbisa and Weber as each a half. (Sbisa is with his junior team and Weber is no longer in the NHL.) And they played THAT well? I’m big in rooting for the underdog, so I was happy they got as far as they did. (Sidenote: I think Hiller forgot his European play, however, during the Norway and Belarus games…..)

Why do I point this out? Because the Ducks have 7 (count ‘em! SEVEN! Sieben!) Olympians playing on this team and the Ducks are damn near out of playoff contention. Let’s recap, shall we?

Trade deadline was March 3 – Ryan Whitney was traded (Hallelujah!!) to Edmonton for Lubomir Visnovsky. GREAT trade for the Ducks; to the Oilers: SUCKAS! That silver medal that Whitney had must have made him look good. We also acquired Aaron Ward from the Hurricanes. Again – good trade. Sadly, we lost Petteri Nokelainen to Phoenix; it was bound to happen as he’d been scratched a lot. I wish him all the best. Earlier, the Ducks had sent down Nick Boynton and he was traded as well. The Ducks also traded G Vesa Toskala, which wasn’t surprising. He’s better off with the Flames anyway. Good luck to him. G Justin Pogge is no longer a Duck either. As it stands today, Curtis McElhinney (from the Flames) is the backup to Hiller and Timo Pielmeier is our #3 (which I wholeheartedly agree with!).

Wednesday, March 3 saw the Avalanche come into Anaheim and from what everyone was saying the Ducks were the team to beat now. SEVEN OLYMPIANS!!!!! 6 MEDALS!!!!!!!! They were going to be tough! Uh huh. Yeah, not so much. This team was HOT before the Olympics – Anaheim had pulled to within 3 points of the 8th place. The Avs were a much better team than Anaheim that night and won, 4-3. The Ducks did try to come back, but I think they forgot WHO they were playing. Anderson was in the net, for crying out loud…. Yes, we were short on the blue line, but that’s what happens on trade deadline. The home winning streak was snapped.

Saturday, March 6 the Ducks were in Phoenix to play the Coyotes. I was there as well. Not only did the Ducks keep me from checking into my hotel room (Them: “We’re so sorry – we have hockey players on late checkouts today.” Me: “Ahh, yes – that would be my team.”) but they made me sit through an agonizing 4 -0 shutout on top of it!!! Props to Bryzgalov; he recorded his 7th shutout of the season (HEY - one shutout for each Duck Olympian on the ice that night!) which was also a franchise record 34th win of the season. Good to know my hockey team helped in creating Coyote history…… The Anaheim Ducks owe me bank for that trip!!
Flight: $172.
Hotel room – one night, complete with late checkin: $180.
Double cocktail at arena: $20
Watching your team play like they’ve never seen a puck before: FRIGGIN’ PRICELESS!
Same time, next year??? I did get a free Coyotes hat, though.

Sunday, March 7 saw the Ducks (and me) back at Anaheim to play the Montreal Canadiens. Saku Koivu’s old team! I have to say, the Ducks played much better than the night before. However, they blew an early lead (again!), Bobby Ryan missed an empty net he usually could have made with his eyes shut and lost in the SO 4-3. At least it’s a point…..but the Ducks are now 7 points out of the 8th position. I won’t go into the shoot out goal ‘controversy’ as I believe Anaheim and Hiller were robbed. Say what you want about Hiller, but he will take the blame on something when it’s his to take. He will also stand up for himself as well. My opinion any further than that is moot – the bottom line is that Anaheim lost and therefore may have lost their chances to get into the playoffs.

Anaheim needs to win, win, win and hope, hope, hope for some key losses from other teams.

Next up – 6 more home games. Let’s hope my team can win all of these and start a new streak at home. Do I think the Ducks will be in the playoffs? Not if they play like they did against the Coyotes. Do I think it’s possible for them to once again be the Comeback Kids? Yeah, I do.

As mad as I may get, I’m still a Ducks fan. No matter how frustrated I get with my team, I’m sure they are even more frustrated with themselves.

LET’S GO DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Let’s cut to the chase, the Wings are not the formidable force this season that they were in the last few years. Discussions go on for hours (believe me!) about why, but the main consensus seems to be the same. We lost a lot of firepower in the summer, and couldn’t replace it. The salary cap restrictions hit us too hard. We had a lot of injuries, that decimated our main scoring lines and main defensive lines, and didn’t have the depth to patch up the missing links. None of this is out of our control, however. If you sign up big name players, then they’re going to cost you salary, and you have to prepare for it, especially if you want to pin them to long-term contracts. Also, you can’t rely on a couple of offensive and defensive lines to carry the team. When these main players can’t play, for whatever reason, the 3rd/4th line players need to step up and make up the points.

However, let’s not bemoan the season too much. After all, we’re still in the a good chance at a playoff place, the run-in to the end of the regular season looks fairly kind on Detroit, and there have been some excellent players come forward in times of need.

Patrick Eaves has really proved his worth as a scrappy and hard-working forward, and deserves his place on the roster since starting the season with AHL affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins. More impressive, however, has been the emergence of Darren Helm, as a fast, hard-working, and determined forward.

Helm is one of the quickest skaters I’ve ever seen, and his ability to breakaway is a key weapon in his arsenal. The recent game in Nashville was a classic example, as Helm, playing on a PK line, took a turnover and played it down ice. Nothing unusual, until Helm decided to chase the clearance. He put the defenceman under pressure, lifted the stick, and stole the puck, slotting it home for a shorthanded goal. Nashville really had a Nightmare on Helm Street, as that was Darren’s second of the night, and his 3rd shorthanded goal of the campaign. He’ll chase anything like an excited dog, and I’ve seen him a couple of times charge down the ice, sometimes totalling himself into the boards, if it meant forcing the opposing defence into a mistake for his teammates to capitalise on. Luckily Babcock has recognised the guy’s determination and ability, and his record of 10-9-19 is only going to improve as he gets more ice-time. Not bad for a 4th line player.

Lastly, it looks like Pavel Datsyuk is starting to regain some form. His season has been modest to say the least, and it’s nice to see him celebrating some good goals, and having the drive to steal the puck off defender’s sticks and push for goals. He totally embarrassed Kevin Klein during the Nashville game, poking the puck away from the defenceman right in front of the goaltender and slotting the puck home. Again on Sunday against Chicago, Datsyuk (the NHL leader in takeaways) stole the puck at the blueline and flew through the offensive zone, scoring a breakaway goal to round off Detroit’s 5-goal second period. It’s great to have Pavel back, firing on all cylinders.

I think I’m a little bit in love with Darren Helm.

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If the San Jose Sharks go on to win a Stanley Cup you can look at last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens as a possible turning point in the season. All season long we’ve watched the Sharks do two things - amass the 2nd best record in the NHL yet still manage to not be able to play up to expectations (read: beat Detroit or Chicago). Last night the Sharks were once again not playing up to expectations and it looked like they wouldn’t be able to find that ‘extra gear’ required to turn the game around. Then Scott Nichol got boarded. The shot was cheap and there was no call. Back in October it took Scott Nichol about one week to become a fan favorite. It doesn’t take long to recognize his hard work. I’m pretty certain that he’s become a locker room favorite too - you can’t help but appreciate that kind of effort. What kind of heart does Nichol have? After obviously sustaining a shoulder injury, Nichol got up holding his injured arm with his good arm, all the while shouting at the officials about the hit - not a single hint of concern for his own injury but showing all the concern about how his team was being treated unfairly. That whole sequence set off the Sharks.

The Sharks then managed to turn the game completely around and literally ‘take’ the victory. I have not seen that kind of game-changing effort in a long time. For the first time this season, nay perhaps in a couple of seasons, the Sharks showed not only us but THEMSELVES that when they decide to do something as a group it can happen. And remember, the bar for team effort has recently been set and set high. The Olympics showed what can happen when a team puts everything on the line and last night’s post-Nichol injury effort was right up there with the Canada-USA medal game. Those last 8 or so minutes of the game showed for the first time, in my opinion, what the Sharks look like when everyone is playing up to potential. If it were up to me, the NHL odds should have shifted a little in the Sharks favor.

On a side note if you look at the recent history of modern professional sports it’s quite common to bring in top talent on a short contract to try to win championships. The NHL is a perfect example of signing ‘rental’ players to try to get that last piece of the puzzle to make a serious run at a title. That dynamic - the star player on a 1-year deal, was started by the 49ers during that 1994 season. This was not a common practice prior to that year, so one can only imagine what would have happened it the 49er experiment failed and they didn’t win that 5th Super Bowl.

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Two days prior to the Trade Deadline, the Pens traded away their 2010 2nd Round Pick to the Florida Panthers for Jordan Leopold. GM Ray Shero made this move to sure up the defense and that is hopefully what Leopold will bring. He is a solid player who should bring something extra to the defense. Leopold was used by Florida as a shutdown defense men on Alexander Ovechkin, which most likely will come in handy as the Penguins and Capitals could meet again in the playoffs.

My analysis: I am not a fan of giving up draft picks especially 1st or 2nd ones, however in this case a defensive upgrade was needed and this move made sure that the Penguins did not lose any players off of their current squad.

On Tuesday, after the game against Buffalo, Ray Shero made a move to pick up Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Poni is a big forward (6′4, 220lbs) and provides skill and experience. The Penguins traded away Martin Skoula (about time) and also Luca Caputi from Wilkes-Barre. I was disappointed to see Caputi go because he was not only lighting it up in the AHL but also had played some on the big club and many people were expecting to see him on the big club next year. He should get a chance at starting sooner than that in Toronto and I wish him the best of luck.

Poni has been an underachiever and hopefully will fit better on the line with Evgeni Malkin. Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma want to keep the Crosby, Guerin, and Kunitz line together so on Malkin’s line is the most likely spot. Unfortunately, Poni will not be available to play tonight against New York as he is still working on getting his U.S. work visa.

My analysis: I did not like giving up Luca Caputi but time will tell if this move was a good one or not. Poni is a big body and will hopefully improve a little with the talent of Evgeni Malkin. I think most Pens fans are glad to see Skoula gone and wish him the best of luck in New Jersey (where Toronto turned around and traded him to). He should fit in a little better there.

The only other move the Penguins made was to trade defense men Chris Peluso from Wilkes-Barre for a 6th round pick to Toronto.

With all of that said, I feel like the Pens did a good job. This year, the trade deadline was a little lack luster and there were not a whole lot of sellers which made the cost of buying higher. I think the Pens made out quite well and did not overpay for the two trades that they made.

Now it is time for the Penguins to begin their run for Playoff positioning. They currently sit in the 4th spot with 78 points. They are one point back from division leader New Jersey, but New Jersey does have one game in hand. Washington has a pretty solid position with the 1st spot as they are 13 points ahead of New Jersey who sits at number 2. Spots 2 through 5 have their own little race going along with spots 6 through 13. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

The Pens have 19 games left and I am hoping they find themselves a number 2 or 3 seed. It will be interesting to see if they can jump over New Jersey for the division lead.

On a side note, I was quite impressed with the Pittsburgh fans on Tuesday night when they had a standing ovation for Buffalo Sabres goaltender, Ryan Miller who played amazingly for team USA in the Olympics. Of course, then some fans let me down by booing Crosby when they should him with his game winning goal. Yes, I would have rather had the USA win as well, but no reason to boo someone who has done so much for the Penguins and continues to play his heart out.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Leading up to the deadline the Canucks had some issues that needed to be addressed, the primary concern was to add extra depth on defense due to the injuries to Bieksa and Mitchell. An upgrade on offence to help improve the somewhat mediocre third and fourth lines was also expected to be on Gillis’s to do list.

The most significant and possibly the only new face in the Canucks dressing room will be that of defenseman Andrew Alberts who was dealt from Carolina for a third round pick in 2010. Alberts weighs in at 216 lbs and is six foot five. This season he has 2 goals 8 assists and 10 points in 62 games, Alberts likes to throw his weight around by administering big hits he is also a useful shot blocker. Alberts is under contract until 2011 and currently earns $1.5 million a year.

The other deals made were sending Mathieu Schneider to Phoenix for defenseman Sean Zimmerman and PC Labrie was shipped to St Louis for forward Yan Stastny. Both Stastny and Zimmerman will likely spend the majority of their time playing for the Moose.

The big questions are, will these new additions be the key pieces that can lead Vancouver to cup victory this season? Perhaps not, should Mike Gillis have thrown out large nets to reel in some bigger fish? Of course landing players like Hamhuis Wolski or even Iilya Kovalchuk doesn’t guarantee success for their respective teams. The positives that can be drawn from the movements Gillis made, are the fact that Vancouver didn’t loose any significant roster players or talented prospects like Hodgson (it was rumored that the Maple Leafs wanted to trade Kaberle for the Canucks prodigy).

If a team carries out a huge overhaul during deadline day it can affect team chemistry that could cause greater problems when a team is in the middle of a play-off series. When Oli Jokinen was sent to Calgary on deadline day a few years ago he struggled to find his feet thus creating problems for his line mates and coach.

Most fans long for their teams to be major players on what many people believe to be one of the most important and exciting days of the NHL calendar. If you’re a fan of the Phoenix Coyotes you may be feeling as if Christmas has come early considering that Phoenix were one of the most active members of this annual soirée, although it may only be a matter of time before the Coyotes train is permanently derailed.

Vancouver wasn’t the only team who were quiet; teams like Chicago and San Jose both chose to stand pat. The Hawks and Sharks currently sit in first and second place in the Western Conference while Vancouver is third. The Canucks are on the second half of their Olympic road trip with two consecutive wins plus a two-point lead over their closest divisional rivals Colorado. Vancouver are surely heading to the play-off’s with a team that has so far proved to be successful, why would you want to upset the dynamics, maybe sometimes less is definitely more?

You can follow me on twitter.com/CanucksEdge

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First: The Capitals acquired Scott Walker from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 7th round pick in 2010. For me this is a great trade. Walker is a great character player, bringing a bit of depth on the right wing which was lost with the departure of Chris Clark. To only give up a 7th rounder here to me is an excellent bit of business getting the day going.

Second: Eric Belanger was acquired from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 2nd round pick in 2010. I wasn’t too sure about this trade. Obviously, George McPhee is looking for depth and role players for the playoff stretch, however I thought a 2nd rounder might be a bit too much for Belanger. I haven’t seen much of the Wild this year, but Belanger doesn’t seem to be a definite second line center (which is what the Capitals have needed with Brendan Morrison and Thomas Fleischmann failing to fill the role well enough).

Third: Interestingly, the Caps re-acquired defenseman Milan Jurcina, who was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in December in the deal that brought Jason Chimera to Washington. The Jackets got the Caps’ 6th round pick in 2010. I highly rate Jurcina and was sad to see him depart in December, so I’m glad he’s back and a 6th rounder is a very good price in my opinion. Jurcina brings more strength and big shooting back to the blue line.

Fourth: Finally, in their biggest trade of the day, the Capitals traded Brian Pothier, prospect Oskar Osala and a 2nd round pick in 2011 to the Hurricanes for d-man Joe Corvo. The price was high – Pothier has been a solid blue-liner for a good few years in Washington, Osala has shown good potential in Hershey with pretty decent scoring in the past couple of years, and a 2nd rounder is a 2nd rounder – but Joe Corvo represents something the Capitals needed; a solid, experienced defenseman who could compliment Mike Green’s extremely offensive style.

Overall: The Caps give up two 2nd rounder, one 6th rounder, and one 7th rounder in draft picks, Brian Pothier and Oskar Osala; and gain Scott Walker, Eric Belanger, Milan Jurcina and Joe Corvo. Giving up draft picks over the next couple of years is not actually that bad. The Caps have a lot of good youngsters like Neuvirth, Alzner and Carlson almost ready to fully step up to NHL level. Brian Pothier is not a big loss, especially with the acquisitions of both Corvo and Jurcina, and Osala is just one of many prospects in the organisation. Walker and Belanger bring experience and depth, and Jurcina and Corvo sure up the defense.

So it’s been a day of a lot of slight improvements, to ensure the team has the depth and character to make a deep run into the playoffs and a great shot at the Stanley Cup. Tonight’s game against Buffalo is the first back after the disappointing Olympic break, but the next few games will be testing for the new-look Capitals. We’ll see how these trades affect them.

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Coming out of the cold a few hours before the game, I found my way to the escalator. Looking back, I noticed Tyson Nash standing there, looking dashing as ever in his pastel colored tie and called out “Hey Tyson”. Now sometimes my outgoing nature tends to startle people, as it did Tyson. His head jerked up but he waved and smiled. What else are you gonna do when a strange redhead yells “hey” in a five-star hotel on an escalator?
 


The escalator turned out to be my lucky charm because who did we literally run into when we stepped off? Shane Doan! And yes, I found it necessary to shake his hand and say hello. As gracious as you always hear about, he stopped for a moment while we wished him luck. Or should I say I wished him luck. My daughter stood by my side mute from the sheer awesomeness that was meeting one of her heros.



And then..the onslaught. Innocently standing at the elevator bank, Peter Mueller, Keith Yandle, Jason LaBarbera, and Mikkel Boedker all dressed to impress in their suits cram into an elevator. Once again I can’t let that just go and my call of “hey guys” caused more deer-in-the headlights looks than hunting season in Pennsylvania. I have to wonder..do they just expect to go unnoticed especially since they are in a different city? Or am I just that social that it causes alarm? Don’t answer that! Only LaBarbera seemed unfazed, turned and reciprocated the “hey”. Thanks Jason.



One last sighting ocurred during a particular odd moment. When approaching the front desk to find Benadryl for hives that unexpectedly showed up on my neck (I just blame the sheer excitement of it all!) I ran into Anders Ericksson. Not at all concerned that I might startle, confuse, beguile or bewilder him, I throw a “good luck tonight” his way. This time I was rewarded with a big smile and a “thanks”. Apparently he didnt’ see the red bumps on my neck that were approaching goiter status..whewww.



After my hives were in check and the reception under my belt, we were off to the Pepsi Center. Incidentally, during said reception, I had a nice albeit too brief, conversation with Doug Moss on the potential of Mikkel Boedker. At the entrance to the arena, cars lined up as though as we were waiting to get in Six Flags. Since we were on a “tour” bus, our walk to the entrance wasn’t horrible, however I did feel bad for the commoners who had to hike out from the parking lot.  Made me a little homesick for Jobing.com arena whose parking seemed easier in comparison.



On the way to the arena you pass large pillars and of course a gargantuan Pepsi ball logo embedded in rock. Guess which soda pop choices you have inside? The arena is referred to as “the can” although supposedly not in polite or arena personnel company.



Gaining entrance to the arena was a simple procedure. No metal detectors, no purse invasion and only one ticket taker to allow entrance. A bit different from the body cavity strip streach you receive at Coyotes games while surrounded by at least 3 security guards/ticket takers/purse checkers.



Aside from the large hanging sculpture representing the various sports played there, the Avalanche (hockey), the Denver Nuggets (basketball) and the Mammoth (lacrosse) the arena was pretty hockey typical. Some annoying differences included an ancient scoreboard, the announcer who sounded like he was auditioning for a jazz radio station and the intro to the team (the Avalanche experience) was far too lengthy. Just get the guys on the ice already!



The fans were relatively energetic and I was pleased to see that even on a Friday night, attendance wasn’t any more than what you see at Jobing.com on any given night. It was an odd experience to be the “strangers in a strange land” with Avalanche jerseys coming at you at every turn but we held strong. We even received a few shout outs from wayward Coyotes fans in passing. However we did get boo’ed from a young (11 or 12) fan in the pro shop to which I replied saltily “yeah that’s what we say when you come to town”. Mess me with kid.



The game, as you probably already know, did not go our way. Some bad penalty calls, a lagging power play (AGAIN) and an inability to get shots to connect left us shy of the win at 2-1.



The experience was great and I have to give a big thanks to Lindsay, Jackie, Doug Moss and the rest of the Coyotes team that put the trip together and accompanied us all to Colorado. I also need to send a huge thanks to my employer, Jobing.com for sending us. 



As they say, “there’s no place like home” and although the experience was awesome I still think I prefer watching my Coyotes where they belong..in the desert.



Let’s Puck!

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Now that my theory, that a Team USA victory would help the Sharks win the Stanley Cup, is out of play, we’ll fall back on Son of OT’s* theory. His theory is that a Team Canada win could motivate Dany Healtley, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Danny Boyle to join Ken Morrow, Brendan Shanahan and Steve Yzerman** as the only hockey players to win an Olympic gold and Stanley Cup in the same year.

If anything hopefully the fact that Canada did not cruise to gold, both in the tournament and on an individual game level, provided Thornton and Marleau with the experience helpful to winning a Stanley Cup. I mention Thornton and Marleau because they’re the two that take the most heat when the Sharks get bounced from the NHL tournament.

Not only does the NHL get back to work but the trade deadline is March 3. Did Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson trade Jody Shelley to make free up a little cap space, either to add a player should something have happened to one of our boys while playing in Vancouver, or add a final role player if everyone came back healthy? The next few days should be interesting.

*Son of OT is from Canada - enough said
**Quick search of the double-winner question resulted in those three names.

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A reporter was interviewing an average citizen about some event and the reporter mentioned some proposal recently enacted by the Obama administration. The interviewee said, very modestly, that he didn’t agree with that proposal. The reporter immediately barked back “So you’re condemning the policies of the Obama administration!”

I thought wow, that’s quite a stretch - that not agreeing with a policy equals condemnation of an entire administration’s body of work. I’m not here to discuss politics, I just thought it was amusing AND frightening the leap these guys take to create a sound bite.

It is in that spirit that I created my headline.

An article posted on NBC’s Olympic website throws out the notion that the Sharks, and their “playoff cursed” players, may be the reason for Team Canada’s loss to Team USA. The article title “Olympics choke talk swarms Sharks” implies nation-wide finger pointing and rock throwing at Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle. We all know how hockey-crazed Canada is, and we all know how important this medal is to them. But even under those circumstances my cursory search revealed no articles emanating from our “Friends to the North” pointing blame on the San Jose Sharks Olympic representatives. In fact of all the changes Team Canada has made for their game against Germany, including changing goalies and shuffling lines, the ONLY thing that remains intact is the Sharks line.

Nice try (author) Jacob Amaya - but this isn’t CNN, MSNBC or Fox News.

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Andreas Lilja has been on long term IR since a massive concussion in February 09, caused by a fight with Shea Weber. He has since struggled with physical exertion causing him massive headaches and affecting his vision. However, after a successful conditioning stint with Detroit affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins, the Swede is ready to return to the NHL. However, the Wings are almost at their cap, and Lilja’s $1.2 salary is going to take some clearance. So, here’s how the Wings have sorted it out.

Maltby – About to undergo shoulder surgery. Long Term Injured Reserve
May – Assigned to Grand Rapids Griffins (cleared waivers)

Now, since Maltby is our best pest, chirping and annoying other teams, and May our enforcer, where does that leave the Red Wings? Maybe a bit toothless? Hey, at least our leading hitter, Abdelkader is still charging around the 4th line, and we’ve acquired in the Leino trade a new defencemen (Tollefsen) who isn’t afraid to drop the gloves.…oh wait.

Abdelkader – Assigned to Grand Rapids Griffins
Tollefsen – Assigned to Grand Rapids Griffins

So less of a case of all bark and no bite, but more of a case of no barking at all, not even a whimper. We’ve not had a fully fledged frightening enforcer since Darren McCarty, and Brad May was the closest thing we had. We need at least one or two guys that can dish out retribution for dirty hits, persistent roughing, or ‘accidental’ slashing of star players.

And then the Red Wings franchise wonders why all our players are injured…

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So what does this mean to the Sharks fan in me? It’s a win-win situation. If this loss contributes to Team Canada failing to win the gold, it should be a nice, recent reminder for the core of the Sharks that come playoff time, take nothing for granted. If Team Canada bounces back from this and does win the gold, it’ll hopefully instill in that same Sharks core just what kind of ‘life and death’ effort it takes to win a tournament such as the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Now the problem is the extra games the core has to play - injuries continue to be the main concern.

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In my opinion, the fascinating statistic of the tournament so far:
Men’s Hockey Score (combined USA & Canada): 20-4
Women’s Hockey Score (combined USA & Canada): 72-3

USA! USA! USA!

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Since the last post, Anaheim has played 4 games leading up to the Winter Games. February 8 saw the LA Kings play at the Honda Center. This was an important game for both teams for numerous reasons; for the fans, we just wanted to see our team beat the Kings. They came into the Ponda on a streak: 10 wins in a row. The Ducks also had a streak to continue – 9 home wins. There is a lot of bad blood between the fans of these two teams, so you know we each were desperate for a win. Not to mention, the Feb 4th game saw my Ducks on the wrong end of a schooling. Ouch. Anaheim has been such an amazing team at home lately and this game was no exception. Anaheim beat the Kings 4-2, thereby ending the Kings winning streak and furthering the Ducks home streak to 10, tying the franchise record. To the King fan who decided he was going to talk smack after the game: whose streak is broken now?

February 10th was the last home game before the Olympic break and it was the Edmonton Oilers who received the loss, 3-2. This was an ugly, ugly game for the Ducks, but 2 points is 2 points. Both Edmonton goals were short-handed, which is extremely frustrating. The Ducks will play the Oilers again the Sunday before the Olympians go off to play for their countries. The Ducks now have a franchise record 11 home game winning streak!!

February 13th, the Ducks were on the road and played the Calgary Flames. I was lucky enough to watch this game; I don’t have Center Ice, but I know someone who does. Honestly, the most entertaining part of this 3-1 Duck loss was the Canadian commercials. Some of the oddest I’ve ever seen…. The Ducks were slow and didn’t play their game. There were many good chances created by Anaheim, but Kiprusoff was just too good. There seemed to be double the amount of Flames on the ice whenever Anaheim came into the Flames zone; I joked that they were puffer fish near their net. Anytime the Ducks came near, there just wasn’t any room to shoot. Before the game, the Flames recognized all the Olympians on the ice with kids bearing the respective countries flags and jerseys; that was classy.

February 14 saw the Ducks once again playing the Oilers, this time in Edmonton. I was a bit worried with this game as I felt the Oilers would come out aggressive in revenge for the prior loss. Sadly, I wasn’t able to watch this game; instead it was radio for me. It sounded like the Ducks played better in their 7-3 win and all of Canada rejoiced that Ryan Getzlaf not only played, but had a 4 point game. (Yes – he’s on the Canadian roster for sure now!) It sounded like the Oilers gave the Ducks a run in the second period – again, another short-handed goal – but the Ducks came back decisively in the 3rd. Once again, the Olympians were honored before the game, this time the kids with the jerseys and flags came out onto the ice, with the players behind them. 10 total this game – 8 Ducks and 2 Oilers. Real classy move again and wicked cool picture.

As of now, the Ducks sit just 2 points out of the 8th spot. Déjà vu…….

So, tomorrow starts the Olympic hockey tournament. I can’t wait. Although, it will be strange to see the Ducks in different uniforms. Hiller has a new mask for the occasion - check out my friend Justin’s site for the pictures: http://www.thegoalieguild.com/?p=3155 THAT will be strange to see as well. I got comfortable seeing these players in their Ducks uniforms and hearing their names in conjunction with those who are usually ‘enemies’…..well, that will be peculiar, too. Getzlaf, Perry, Thorton, Heatly on the same team??? LOL. One can’t help but be proud to see these players that we watch daily, discuss endlessly and even fight over (Hello, Kings fan!) perform for their countries. It makes someone like myself a bit schizophrenic trying to watch all the games your players are in! DVR is a good thing. So, until the end of the Olympic break, I’ll just say:

GO USA! GO CANADA! GO FINLAND! GO SWITZERLAND! (somewhere in there, there will be at least one medal brought home to Anaheim!)

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Ones to watch are the dynamic defensive duo of Adrian Aucoin and Keith Yandle who are scoring left and right. Matt Lombardi who, even without his partner in crime Scottie Upshall, is on a tremendous offensive run stacking up assists.

With Colorado in 6th place and our guys in 4th, I am perfectly ok with widening that gap. More ok would be to overtake the Vancouver Canucks who sit in 3rd and even more ok would be to play beer pong with Vern Fiddler and Jason LaBarbera.

Watch out Avs fans!
Let’s Puck!

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In 1879 students of the McGill University in Montreal were the first to develop specific rules, they played the game based on their rules. These were to be known as the McGill Rules. Years later numerous amateur leagues were founded; in 1917 the NHL was formed. Since then hockey has become a sport that is played all over the world with fans of the great game in countries like USA, England, Sweden and even Australia; hockey is truly a global sport.

Most nations have their favorite sport for example in India people enjoy cricket, the English are soccer mad and in the USA football reigns supreme. In Canada the most popular sport is hockey. What makes hockey so special to Canadians? Is it because there are a high percentage of NHL players who are of Canadian decent? Or maybe it’s due the fact that most people have memories of playing hockey as kids and pretending to be players like Johnny Bower or Dave Keon? Perhaps people like the late Foster Hewitt who coined the phrase “He shoots he scores!” or Don Cherry are partly responsible for creating a nation of hockey lovers?

There are many hockey fans across Canada who are proud of the game of hockey, some will follow the local junior team, while others choose to be enthusiasts of either of the six Canadian NHL teams. Of course living in Canada doesn’t mean your favorite NHL team has to be from Canada. Katie Lawrence lives in Vancouver but her team is not the Canucks. Katie is happy to reveal which team she likes to call her own. “My team is the Avs’ they mean a lot to me. I’ve cheered for them since I was six. It started as a way to bug my Dad but grew into a genuine love of the team. My hero is Joe Sakic, in my eyes he’s the best player ever.”

The last time a Canadian team won the Cup was in 1993 when the Montreal Canadians were victorious against the LA Kings. Prior to that the Edmonton Oilers won in 1990 and the Flames the year before. If the current NHL campaign was to end today, four of the six Canadian teams would make the play off’s, as it is those four teams have still not cemented themselves a spot. Every Canadian team has had its fair share of problems and struggled at some time over the course of this season.

This year fans of the Flames, Leafs, Canucks, Senators and Canadiens have been through many highs and lows with their team. Well that just comes as part of the territory doesn’t it, any hockey fan will tell you that, wont they? Perhaps the following six Canadian hockey fanatics can answer that question? So here are their stories.

Part One: Westside Stories

Calgary Flames:

Cedric Larouche is a 26-year-old native of Quebec; he was born and raised in Quebec City. For the last year he has been living in the town of Chicoutimi. His province is known for producing legends like Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau including current stars like Martin Brodeur. Like most people from Quebec, Cedric is a very passionate fan of his favorite NHL team. Unlike most people from his province he doesn’t follow the Canadiens. “I really dislike the Habs so much I can’t follow them, my team is Calgary.” Cedric used to be a Nordiques fan until they moved in 1995. “I had a choice to make, so I choose Calgary,” says Cedric, “The Habs are all everyone talks about here!”

Cedric is such a huge fan of the Flames that stopping up to the early hours to see his team play is just part of the commitment he has for his team. “Being in a Canadiens territory sometimes irritates me, I find Montreal fans a little annoying it gets me into a lot of arguments” Cedric also enjoys listening to local Calgary sports radio to fuel the love he has for his team.

Like most of the Canadian teams, the Flames are not having a very good season. As an avid Flames fan Cedric has his opinions as to why he thinks his team is struggling at the moment. “I really think it’s a chemistry issue, at the start of the season the big players didn’t produce, it was players like Dawes and Conroy that did most of the work. One team can’t survive by their third line alone.” Cedric also feels that when team Canada was announced the big three in defence were in his words “bummed out”. Well we all know what happened to one of those defencemen.

Talking to Cedric it’s clear to see that the people of his province are crazy about their favorite sport. When the local teams are not playing he, his friend’s, family and even co-workers love to chat about the countries obsession with the game of hockey. They even have a hockey reality TV show that is a must see. In Cedric’s spare time he likes to referee minor hockey games.

Oilers:

Martin Male (51) is an Oilers fan, born and raised in Edmonton. He has also lived in such places as Calgary and Canucks nation in Prince George BC. Martin now calls Yellowknife home he moved there in 2006. Prior to settling in Yellowknife he spent sixteen years living in the far north in Inuvik. Even in such a remote region there is a great enthusiasm for the sport of hockey Martin explains. “The locals were brought up with Toronto and Montreal and that is who they still cheer for predominantly. A few of the younger kids chose other teams but the Leafs and Canadians are the teams of choice”

During the season Martin and his friends take great pleasure discussing the nations most revered sport. “ We love to talk about our favorite NHL team, or the game that our son or daughter played the night before, or even the game you played yourself ”. When the hockey season has finished Martin occupies himself by doing other things, he misses hockey though. “ I secretly wish the hockey season would start again soon. In some of the bigger cities there are even summer hockey leagues being played so people can play their favorite sport year round”.

When Martin was a youngster he played hockey although he was much better at the game of soccer so he concentrated more on that. Nowadays hockey is just a spectator sport for Martin. “I am very passionate about the Edmonton Oilers, I have followed them from the first game they played in the WHA and still follow every game they play”. The WHA or World Hockey Association is now a defunct league that operated from 1972-1979.

Martin was fortunate enough in the 1980’s to still be living in Edmonton. “I was able to attend most games during the glory days. The game was played at a different level then by one of the greatest teams of all time and probably won’t be played at that level again” Martin feels that the Oilers teams post the 1980’s era may never be as good as the team that took to the ice during that decade. The Oilers won a staggering five Stanley Cups from1983 until the 1989-1990 seasons. “The unfortunate part about that great team is that every team that played after them was never going to live up to the excellent standards they set. But nonetheless I will always bleed copper and blue.” Martin is the sort of fan who will follow his team even through unhappy periods like the early 1990’s when the Oilers were awful. “Being a fan is someone who sticks with the team during the good and bad times, I will always follow my team no matter what the situation is.”

Edmonton are currently the worst team in the NHL with only eighteen wins from the fifty-two games played so far. During the month of January they failed to win a single game. What can the Oilers do to remedy this and why are they so bad at the moment? Martin has his views on this, “Factors such as veteran players who are overpaid but under achieve; the ineffective use of young guys and a team captain who just can’t lead”. Last season the players stopped listening to nine year head coach Craig MacTavish. The majority of fans were hoping he would get fired. “They got their wish after last season
everyone was happy again, once Pat Quinn and Tom Renney were instilled as the new coaches”.

Martin thinks that firing coach MacTavish was not the solution or the cure for a team that has been performing so poorly. “ I said from the beginning of last year that MacT was not the reason the Oilers were loosing. The problem was the lack of effort from the veterans and a lack of leadership on the ice. That did not change with the coaching change, the team is actually worse”. Martin feels that his team has too many players who are dead weights. He would like to see players who he believes are costly driftwood either traded at the deadline or for Management to buy out these players’ excessive contracts, or even by not resigning some of the unrestricted free agents on the roster who are under performing.

If a team finishes the season near the bottom of the standings there is still some hope for the fans. “ I think most fans will be ok with the team ending the season last or second last, as long as we can get the first or second pick overall and that team comes out with their younger players like Jordan Eberle or whoever they get with the fist pick”. Martin still remains realistic about his teams’ future. “ I don’t think the Oilers will win the cup in the next couple of seasons, but as fans we want to see the right things done before next season. We want to see the team compete on a game in game out basis, not just when they feel like it!”

Canucks:

Josh Hall (21) lives in the City of Chilliwack BC, which is approximately100 kilometers east of Vancouver. Although Josh is a Canucks fan his city does have it’s own team. “Hockey in this community is well, growing. Four years back Chilliwack got a WHL team, the Bruins”. Most of Josh’s friends are Canucks fans, but since moving from Surrey two years ago he doesn’t have quite as many friends as he did in the past. Josh explains how that isn’t a real problem. “This is British Columbia and in Canada there are hockey fans everywhere, I just haven’t met all of them!”

So what does hockey mean to Josh? “Lets just say I was lucky enough to be born into the greatest hockey country in the world, and that is perhaps the main reason why hockey is such a large part of my life.” Josh has happy memories of watching hockey as a young child with his Dad. In 1997 he was struck by tragedy when his Dad and hockey buddy passed away. Josh tells of how this had an impact on his life. “That was definitely a low point in my life, it has also made me stronger as a person”. The loss of his Dad has inspired him to continue his support for the Vancouver Canucks.

When he was 6 or 7 his Father took him to his first Canucks game against the Hartford Whalers at GM Place. Here Josh witnessed former Canucks Defenseman Dave Babych play in his 1000th game. “We lost something like 7-4, it didn’t matter because I was with my Dad.”

Hockey dominates Josh’s life and he will go to great lengths to see big games, that usually means watching on TV, as he doesn’t have the luxury of going to every game like other fans. “Tickets are so expensive these days and I only have two arms and two legs!” However he will make exceptions and book time off from work, like he did to watch Trevor Lindens number being retired and of course during the play offs. Like many hockey fans Josh enjoys watching Canadian institution, ‘Hockey Night In Canada’. “I will pump myself up for a whole week just because there is a huge game coming up on ‘Hockey Night In Canada’”.

He also likes to ensure that his viewing pleasure is enhanced with plenty of hockey food at his disposal. “I will buy ample amounts of my favorite comfort food”. Prior to a big game Josh is a little superstitious. “I like to make my place look sparkling in hopes that it will transfer to the Canucks having a sparkling bright and perfect game”. When he wears his Canucks jersey he never eats in case he stains his jersey and brings a stain on the season! He loves his country just as much as he does his favorite team. “I always stand and sing ‘O Canada’ before the game, and I never give up hope that the Nucks can come down from behind, we saw a few weekends ago versus Toronto a 3-0 lead is never safe”.

The Canucks are very important to Josh, to the point that he feels his team and the sport of hockey in general, is his life, “I wear my jersey in public and I feel proud to do so because I love showing that the Canucks are MY team.”

Supporting your favorite hockey team requires a lot of effort, dedication, and time, not to mention heartache if the team loses more often than wins. When Vancouver hosts the Olympics in the whole nation will be united in its allegiance to Canada’s Olympic hockey teams. Living in BC Josh will be able to witness this first hand. He tells us what living in the Olympic host province means to him, “The Olympics are going to display that pride and prowess that Canada possesses. Canada is the birthplace of hockey and there are no ifs or buts about it. We as a nation know that hockey is OUR sport”.

He can’t wait to see Team Canada play and thinks it will be a hockey tournament to remember. His favorite hockey memory to date is, by far, watching the Gold medal games between Canada and USA both the men/women at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. “Never have I been more proud to be Canadian, although I think that feeling could be eclipsed when Canada wins gold once again (knock on wood).”

Part Two: Eastern Promise

Habs:

George Prax is a 24-year-old Canadiens fan who is currently living in Montreal. Hockey is so important to George, that he operates his own hockey website, “When I’m not on my site or other sites (which is often), I’m talking about it with family and friends”. Hockey is without a doubt the most popular sport in Montreal. The Canadiens have a rich history that includes winning the most Stanley Cups, twenty-four in total. Last year the team celebrated it’s one-hundredth birthday. “The community is crazy about it’s team, we are all very passionate about hockey. Very comparable to soccer in England.”

The people of Quebec really enjoy watching hockey. “On any given night you could have upwards of one million people in the province watching the game.” The media is also obsessed with the nations most adored team sport, George tells how much. “Media coverage is overly excessive, every TV station and every radio station covers it, you could have forty or fifty people in the press box for most games”

When you consider how successful the Canadiens have been in seasons gone by, you could be forgiven for assuming that the team should contend for the cup on a yearly basis. In recent weeks Montreal has endured more problems than some teams would be faced with over a two-month period. On January 30th the Canadiens current leading goal scorer Michael Cammalleri was injured in a game against Ottawa. Cammalleri may be sitting in the team’s sickbay for at least a month. To make matters worse GM Bob Gainey resigned on Monday 8th of February. It seems like Montreal’s troubles are going to continue, as it will have to add two more players to the teams IR list. This week it has been announced that Defenceman Marc- Andre Bergeron and Benoit Pouliot will be inactive for at least six weeks. It’s obvious that Montreal’s team is having some bad luck, although luck can’t be blamed for everything. George gives his thoughts on his teams’ less than perfect season. “As for the Habs they’re simply mediocre. They don’t have many draft prospects, the coach doesn’t match the players and they are terribly inconsistent. They need to rebuild to be honest!”

Leafs:

Mike MacDonald (34) has been a Leafs fan all his life. “I am sure I bled blue from my first breath” Mike’s Dad was a diehard Maple Leafs fan who has had season tickets from 1975. “Section 312 row 2 in the old girl on Carlton Street was where I spent many nights, with my idols Lanny, Borje and Sitler, and then Viave, Clark, Leeman and so many more.” Mike was given his first hockey jersey at the age of six; surprisingly it wasn’t a Leafs replica shirt, “It was a white (home at the time) Chicago Blackhawks jersey that was a hand me down, with Doug Wilson’s twenty – four on the back. Even though it wasn’t a Leafs jersey he would still wear it, “I wore it proud but it was not the same as the blue and white I saw on the TV. I asked my Dad why cant my hockey jersey be like the Leafs?” He was finally given a Leafs road jersey number seventeen, in 1986.

Mike was born and raised in Toronto; he now lives just thirty minutes away from the city, in the town of Ajax, with his Wife and twelve-year-old daughter. Mike’s daughter has also become a fan of the Leafs, “Last Christmas she asked for Toronto Maple Leafs stuff, I think she has a boyfriend.” When the Leafs held a seventies night his daughter and her Mom, had the privilege of watching the game in a company suite sitting four rows behind the penalty box. “Win or loose it didn’t really matter to her, she had the best time just like I did all those years ago.”

Even though the Leafs may not be the best team in the league most fans remain loyal. Mike is one of those faithful supporters, “ We are in a unique situation in Toronto, this team, no matter how much they may loose, will still sell out every game. This makes for a bit of a paradox when it comes to owners and managers they do not feel the same pressure to win as say a small market team like Carolina. If the Canes aren’t winning Jimmy Rutherford is light in the pockets, if the Leafs aren’t winning its business as usual.” Mike knows that there is still pressure for the whole Leafs organization including both players and management. “I am not saying that there is no pressure at MLSE, in fact it is probably a pressure none of us could ever understand. It is just a different pressure than the other 28 or 29 teams (give or take Montreal).”

Once again the Maple Leafs season is not likely to end with a triumphant play off run, Mike however continues to have hope for the future. “ The Leafs are struggling, yes, understatement of the year, but maybe it will be the same team for a few years dwelling in the basement. That’s just the beauty of hockey no one is there forever. Look at Detroit they were loosing for a long time but due to the system the Red Wings have, it enabled them to farm young players thus turning them into a winning machine”

With GM Brian Burke at the helm Toronto may well have a team that can compete for the cup, Mike has some thoughts about Brian Burke, “ We have entered into the Brian Burke era, everyone knows what Burke does, he goes into a city tears it apart and builds a winner. That is exactly what he has done this past year and more evident with the acquisition of Dion Phaneuf and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. I don’t think he is done, I know he isn’t done; the future is bright for Leafs fans. When you have reached the bottom the only place to go is up.”

Senators:

For fans of the Ottawa Senators the future looks very promising, as the Senators are currently one of the best Canadian teams in the NHL. Paul Turner (48) resides in the nations Capital, he is devoted to his team but in the past he has had to follow other teams. “I haven’t always been a Sens fan because we haven’t always had the Sens” Paul remembers enjoying hockey from an early age. “As a kid we always watched ‘Hockey Night In Canada’, even my 90 year old Grandmother watched the games on TV”. In those days there were only the original six teams, so Paul rooted for the Leafs or Canadiens. “I mostly cheered for the Habs as they were the better team especially in the early 70’s!”

The majority of children in Canada long to grow up to be a huge NHL star and they play out their dream with friends. Paul was no different. “As kids we all played in the street, stopping the game briefly as a vehicle went by, yelling CAR.” Paul even took part in some minor league hockey; unfortunately he doesn’t feel he was good enough. “I was too skinny”. That didn’t deter him from attending a summer hockey school, where he met former players Gary Unger, Bernie Parent, Dennis Hull and Allan Stanley. “Nothing came of the hockey school apart from lightening my Dad’s wallet”

In the past the Senators were a member of the NHL from 1917 to 1934. During the 1933 – 1934 season the Senators relocated to St Louis due to financial difficulties. After one unsuccessful season the NHL team was permanently suspended. Fifty-four years later the nations capital was reunited with it’s former team. Citizens of Ottawa were once again given the chance to support the Senators. Paul has fond memories of this. “When Ottawa was awarded it’s own franchise, we were reminded how the old Senators had played an important part in NHL history, for us it was important for the team to succeed.” Paul feels the new owner helped the team. “Having a new owner with a money commitment to succeed put this team back on the rails”.

When the 2006-2007 season started Paul was following his team fairly regularly. It was this season when Paul discovered how much of a true Senators fan he really was! “It wasn’t until a February 22 game against the Sabres that solidified my commitment as a fan” Paul describes an incident that happened while he watched the Northeast Division rivals. “A brawl had broken out during the game that had every member of the team involved including the coach. It was right there and then that I realized something historical was about to unfold” For the remainder of that season Ottawa dominated the Eastern Conference and reached the Stanley Cup finals. During the cup final Paul recounts how much the people of Ottawa supported it’s team. “The community was with them all the way, strangers became friends. If you were wearing something with a Sens logo on you became instant friends with a stranger who wore the logo.” He still chats with people from those days. Paul believes that the fans rally behind its team and the team rallies behind the public, by making regular visits to the Children’s Hospital, senior’s homes and other charitable organizations.

Like all fans Paul yearns for his team to get another chance to win the cup. Who knows maybe this could be the year. Paul could have the answer as to why the proud people of his beloved nation cherish their favorite sport, “So in the end what is one thing all of Canada has in common? WINTER! And what do you do in the winter as a team sport? Why you play HOCKEY my friend!”

The Overtime Period

The sport of hockey has been though many changes, but one thing that will never change is Canada’s adoration for it’s favorite winter sport.

With special thanks to:

Ron Grant
Bob Gray
Josh Hall
Cedric Larouche
Katie Lawrence
Rob Lowe
Mike MacDonald
Martin Male
George Prax
David Roy
John Sedore
Paul Turner

All feedback is greatly received: Follow me on Twitter.com/CanucksEdge

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Now, let’s talk trade deadline. Penguins nation knows that GM Ray Shero is not afraid to pull the trigger on big trades close to the deadline. With every conversation that is ever held in Pittsburgh about trades, we know that people are once again asking for a top line winger to compliment either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. There have been some slumping players this year, but in my opinion there is no real player worth trading that will get Pittsburgh what they want. There has also been talk about bringing in a more physical defensemen because at this point the only real good physical defensemen we have is Brooks Orpik.

The problem is that Pittsburgh has around $1 million in cap space. There is not a lot of room to do anything big unless an asset is lost. I am in the mindset that this team might need a little tweak here or there but I don’t want to see any big trades for Pittsburgh this year. I think the team they have is good enough to win it again if they improve their play. They are certainly capable of it. Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang are free agents this year and there is talk about possibly moving one of them. I am a big Kris Letang supported even if he has had an off year. He is a right handed offensive minded defensemen that can bring a lot to the power play.

Time will tell, but personally I hope Shero only pulls the trigger on small trades, nothing big. I think for a team that has so much of their cap space wrapped up in their core players, the best bet is to use the draft to bring in players from their farm system to fill in gaps which they cannot afford to do in free agency.

Here’s to a safe and productive Olympic hockey season for all players.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Worry no more, I’ve figured it out. The reason why the Sharks can’t seem to break this cycle - the ‘Year’. All of the solutions that the Sharks have tried to throw at this cycle are missing the mark. The ‘mark’ isn’t that the team didn’t have veteran leadership, proven champions, top notch talent or hard hitting grit. The ‘mark’ is that it takes a ‘Year’ to get back to the playoffs.

Perhaps with the exception of loss of life, most emotionally devastating events become less painful over time. If you think about the things that can cause us emotional pain - a bad relationship break up, someone stealing your car, your team losing in the playoffs - the pain we feel when we’re going through such things usually diminishes over time. A year later the pain is most likely no where near what it was as when the event first took place. Because it takes a year before the Sharks make it back to the playoffs, it’s possible that all the emotional discomfort from the pervious year’s loss is too diminished to provide the kind of urgency that would be present if the Sharks were given another crack at the trophy just a month later.

That is why Team Sweden needs to win the gold in Olympic hockey.

The ‘core’ of the Sharks are on Team Canada. If Team Canada does not medal in the Olympics, perhaps it’ll put enough ’sting’ in the boys to give them a renewed sense of urgency when they return from Vancouver. The timing will be perfect - approximately 5 weeks later the NHL playoffs will start and barring any catastrophic failures, the Sharks could go into the playoffs with their core out to erase the failure of a month ago.

There is the other argument, that if Team Canada wins the gold it will not only give Dan Boyle, Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau the confidence and experience of what it feels like to win it all but also motivate them to try and be two-time champions - Olympic Gold and Stanley Cup. But since I’m a guy who sees the glass half empty, I’m going to go with “Team Canada Must Lose”.

Sorry aye.

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As far as cap space goes, the Caps have some space with about 3 million to work with. George McPhee’s policy of not handing out big, lengthy contracts seems to be paying off.

Given that the team is on form, and showing real potential for a shot at the cup, I doubt there will be much change. Especially in offense. I stated before that I was not happy with the Chimera trade, and although I still miss Chris Clark, and Jurcina to some extent, it’s hard to argue with a 14-game winning streak (and counting) whilst he’s been here. I can see that Chimera has slotted in well to fill the left wing position on the third line, and this is the top offense in the league, so the forward combos seem set for the year (barring injury).

Defensively there have been frailties. The Pittsburgh game highlighted the poor defense, with a lot of giveaways and poor positioning. The Caps cannot always rely on the offense, or the goalie, to bail them out. So what’s missing? A big top line d-man. Jeff Schultz is turning into a great shut-down defenseman alongside Mike Green, but I don’t think he is good enough to be playing top line deep in the playoffs yet. Sheldon Souray’s name was being mentioned, but his injury seems to have quietened those rumours somewhat. I would have loved Dion Phaneuf in Washington, but the Leafs got him. But that move may open up the possibility of Tomas Kaberle being traded. Although, Kaberle is not the biggest, he could partner Mike Green well on the blue-line. Scott Niedermayer was a suggestion as well, although those rumours seem to be fizzling out as it looks more likely he’ll stay in Anaheim. Someone like Niedermayer, though, would be almost perfect for the Caps. Lots of playoff experience and very stable defensively to help partner Green’s offensive prowess.

Goaltending was an area that I had previously thought was going to be a real problem down the stretch unless a trade was made. I got very excited when Turco’s name was being mentioned concerning being traded, as I thought the Capitals needed a consistent experienced goalie to help Varlamov, as Theodore just wasn’t doing it. But as I said in my last post, goaltending is no longer a problem. Jose Theodore has been outstanding throughout this streak and Neuvirth has shown he can be a good backup if one of the top two is injured.

If a trade were to be made, what would the Caps give up? Well, after making the Chimera trade, McPhee said that the team had excess defenseman. So it would seem that at least one defenseman would most likely be involved in any trade, especially if Washington is acquiring a defenseman. I suspect the Capitals may well look to move at least one of Brian Pothier and Shaone Morrisonn, who are both UFAs at the end of the season. However neither’s salary is small and neither is having a great year. So to meet any value, the Caps may need to give up a prospect, such as Karl Alzner or John Carlson. I would not be disappointed with this, though, as we have a real chance at winning the Stanley Cup this year, and the Caps have plenty of promising prospects.

It will be an interesting couple of days, and then an interesting couple of weeks, before the trade deadlines. But even if there are no trades in Washington, this team is going to challenge for the cup.

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And it’s unlikely for the go-to guy in a shootout to be a defenseman. But unlikely or not, that’s what we have in Adrian Aucoin. The defenseman won the whole shooting match for us in a recent game against Nashville, scoring the only goal of the game in a shootout. And in Friday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks it was Aucoin who once again lent his wrist shot to get the win. 2 consecutives games, 2 consecutive shots in shootouts to victory. Do we dare say he’s streaking?

In a conversation with Todd Walsh, he was asked how he felt about the streak. He kinda chuckled and replied that he was “nervous” about the possibility of being called upon each time and the expectation that would result. Even his wife couldn’t believe it. During his shot on Chicago, she thought the game was a replay of Nashville. Aucoin’s son assured her that “he did it again”.

As it must, all good things come to an end and Saturday’s loss against the Dallas Stars was as spectacular a loss as all those 6 wins put together. 4-0 and the only good thing out of that game was the Paul Bissonnette beat down of Khrys Barch. There is no doubt however, that the Phoenix Coyotes will get back on track and start “streaking” again.

Let’s Puck!

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February 1, the Ducks were still on the road and played their last game of the stretch against the Florida Panthers. Thanks to Versus, we were only able to listen to the game, but what a game it was. Anaheim shut out the Panthers 3-0. From what I could hear, the team played well and Hiller started off his tenure as #1 goalie in fine fashion. It also sounded like new acquisition, Jason Blake, played a good game, too. I’d just have to wait and see when the team comes home to play the Red Wings. The Ducks radio team had nice tributes to Giguere during both intermissions. That was classy.

February 2 saw JS Giguere play for the first time in a uniform other than Anaheim in about 10 years. This was an emotional trade for the fans of Anaheim; while yes, it is a business, you not only trade the player, you trade the man. Seeing Jiggy in his Ducks mask and pads but Leafs sweater was surreal. I have to say, Jiggy starting in the net and also recording a shutout was awesome. The Leafs beat the Devils 3-0. Trust me, I won’t be reporting on the Leafs very often, but you can’t just erase the fact that Giguere was a franchise man for 10 years here. Congrats to Giguere!!

I was able to see Jason Blake firsthand on February 3 when the Ducks came home to play the Detroit Red Wings. Ok – warm-ups showed him moving well and looking sharp. What would he show when the game started? (side note: it WAS odd not to see Giguere come out for warm-ups. ) It was a pretty good game and I was impressed with Blake. So far. He is fast and can handle the puck. Anaheim won 3-1, extending the home streak to 9. I came away with a distinct feeling from the team: they were settled and confident. I asked other fans and they said they felt the same thing. So, it begs the question: was I right when I argued to people that the goalie “win and you’re in” system was affecting not only the goalies, but the team as well? I’ve said Carlyle was trying to ruin the goalies (a bit melodramatic, but hey!) and it’s logical to say that it would affect the whole team as well.

The next night, the Ducks went up to Los Angeles to take on the Kings in the back end of the back-to-back. Last time in Anaheim the Ducks were schooled in a 4-0 loss. Would it be the same?? I didn’t go to the game, but from what I saw on TV, the Ducks did a decent job. Jason Blake got the first goal (his first as a Duck), which would be the last Ducks goal until the 3rd period. The Kings were up 3-1 when Anaheim got their second wind. They tied it up 4-4 after almost 10 min of play. They were on the verge of a comeback! However, by the time the 60 minutes was up, the Kings rallied and beat Anaheim 6-4. It was much better than the last time the Ducks were at the Staples Center, so I will stay positive about that. Jason Blake – a goal and an assist. OK. I like him. So far.

4 games left before the NINE players from the Ducks head off to the Olympics. So the Ducks now have, I believe, the most players sent to the Olympics. Thursday, D Ryan Whitney was added to the roster for Team USA. I have to ask – can someone please explain – what in the hell am I missing with this player? I really don’t think he’s worth the $4 mil we pay him. Yet, Brian Burke adds him to the roster. I have seen him screw up numerous times and cost us goals. He’s taken penalties at bad times and lost us games. WTH? What am I missing????

Speaking of Brian Burke, I have to send my condolences to the Burke family on the death of their 21 year old son, Brendan. As I have a 21 year old son named Brandon, it was especially eerie for me as a parent. The Burke family is in the collective minds of hockey fans everywhere.

LET’S GO DUCKS!

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This season the controversy rose to a boil. Halak’s agent via Twitter was happy to fuel the fire, although he was not alone as the media has continued to push this story each and every day. In spite of Price’s inconsistent play and Halak’s seemingly steadiness each night, Carey seemed to remain the number one goalie, even as duties were shared evenly. It wasn’t until early February of 2010 when Halak received a start after a loss, which wasn’t done all season, that it appeared he had finally toppled Carey Price as the team’s number one goaltender. Where we go from here is unknown, however it seems clear at this point that Halak is the Canadiens’ number one goaltender and Price continues to struggle in finding his place with the team.

My objection to this scenario is the double standard, as I see it. In a January game against the St. Louis Blues, Price picked up the loss in a game that had its ups and downs. Two of the goals that night were tipped in and were not going to be stopped. Another was banked in off Price that could easily be attributed to blown coverage by his defenseman. Yet each media outlet for the team immediately pointed the finger at Price as they do each game. When a shot is tipped and goes through Halak, a word is rarely said. As it shouldn’t, when a shot is tipped and goes into the net, the defenseman needs to be looked at for not clearing out the front of the net. Halak is afforded the benefit of the doubt on these as are most goalies in the league. Most! Carey Price is not a goaltender that is afforded the benefit of the doubt by almost anyone involved in the delivery of a hockey broadcast to its fans. It is a fact that Price lets in shots that he should stop, I do not deny that. However, he is a scapegoat for losses where the burden of that evening’s performance does not rest with him. Criticize him where it fits but step back and stop jumping on the kid every time a puck finds a way into the net. This controversy has been so blown out of proportion and media driven that I believe it has infiltrated its way into the Habs dressing room and likely impacts the two goaltenders we speak of. Price was put into a situation that few kids are. Initially he was great and since he has struggled. He has never been surrounded by an experienced goaltender to lean on and he was not given a chance to mature in the minors. He was catapulted into the spotlight and thrown to the wolves far too soon. His upside is incomparable to any other young goaltender in the league. It would be a huge mistake for the Canadiens to give up on this kid. I think it is a mistake to trade either goalie. Halak is a very good goaltender who will be a number one goalie in this league for years to come. Price is a guy who if matures and develops to his true potential, can be a Vezina award winner.

The Habs need to offer Price one thing that they have yet to offer this young kid, patience!

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“”I settled my family over here. I was hoping I could stay here the rest of my career. That’s the way it goes. It goes with the salary. You make $5 million, 11 goals is not going to cut it. It’s definitely a slap in the face to get traded. But this is what we do for a living.”

This move like the other with Toronto seems to be about Cap space and pro scouting.Trying to get an offensive player in the ruff, versus a gem that don’t produce. Living in Quebec I saw Higgins in Montreal and know he could be a good player. Why stick with Jokinen that you have to pay a lot when Higgins could give you exactly the same for half the price?

Bottom line is, the flames lost yesterday, even thought the ex-leafs players were there, and when Higgins and Kotalik put on the red jersey, almost a third of the team will be different that the team on the ice Saturday… Hope the results will differ!!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: In the flames I trust!

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I don’t think the argument will ever be settled, but I can at least see the cases for and against, and also the reasons behind them.

FOR:

TEAM A fights hard and are denied a win by exceptional and/or very lucky goaltending. They may be scored on by a very lucky bounce/deflection, and then have to play against TEAM B that camps in its own zone, blocking the shooting lanes. In instances like this, the dominant TEAM A may end up losing in a shootout, whilst TEAM B got lucky and then protected the net at all costs to hold on for at least a point, even though they’re likely to be outshot by 20-30 shots. In those games, if the dominant team loses, then there’s a justifiable case for them getting a point.

AGAINST:

TEAM B could defend through 60 minutes, and spend their whole time on the back foot. Even though they hardly attempt to string an attack together, they still get a point for reaching the end of regulation. In some cases, this has actually encouraged teams to go to high-flying opponents and attempt to soak up the pressure as much as they can, as at least there’s a point in it for them. Plus, whichever team loses, loses, and shouldn’t be rewarded with a point, good performance or not. Sometimes you can play very well, and really be the better team but end up losing. That’s competitive sports for you!

However, I think your opinion depends on your own team’s experiences. Detroit’s game at Pittsburgh on Sunday was a good example. I thought we were a good opponent, and really made the Pens work for their game. I saw Datsyuk and Zetterberg play the forechecking game very well, and the Pens defence was often caught under pressure, and forced to blindly shove the puck to centre ice without direction. Even though we were outshot heavily, even though Howard was pushed hard by the Pittsburgh defence, I really think our defensive work, goaltending, and penalty killing was worth a point.

Another loss in OT for Detroit though, and this doesn’t sit well. Most Detroit fans had hoped the win against Nashville was a turning point, but then to lose in shootout to the Pens just shoved us back into the depression.

We play San Jose tonight, and then Anaheim later in the week. Usually against the Sharks, we fight hard and really cut out their passing play. Hopefully we can do that again tonight, and it will be, once again, a very entertaining game. Anaheim is a very familiar story. We’ll try to play with finesse whilst the Ducks attempt to remove body parts of the Wings players.

Holmstrom and Franzen will apparently both be back in the roster before the Olympic break. This should hopefully give us a full roster for the first time since the opening couple of days of the season.

On a final note, Andreas Lilja has been sent to Grand Rapids on a conditioning stint. After his severe concussion problems, he’s been finding that after a couple of minutes of exercise he was suffering from acute headaches and vision problems. Here’s hoping that the 11-month absence hasn’t taken away the bite and spark that Lilja often showed. This is great news for the big man.

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During the summer the Sharks were rumored to be in contention for Gustavsson’s services. The Swedish net minder was supposed to be the second coming of Martin Brodeur and if the Sharks could land him, they’d have the best prospect in pro hockey backing up Evgeni Nabokov. Gustavsson signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here we are two-thirds the way into the season and Gustavsson has had two heart surgeries, has a 3.03 goals against average and a .899% save percentage. When Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke traded Vesa Toskala to the Anaheim Ducks for Jean-Sebastien Giguere, the move could be interpreted as an open admission that maybe Gustavsson isn’t quite as ready for the NHL as one would have thought.

I often get frustrated when I don’t get what I want. I was disappointed when Gustavsson signed with someone else. Here, however, is a rare opportunity to see where NOT getting what I/we wanted may have worked out for the better. If there is a down side to all this - the Anaheim Ducks signed Jonus Hiller to a 4-year extension. If Hiller really is a “Shark Killer”, this might make things difficult for the Sharks.

This might be the sign that the trade gates are about to open up. With the trade deadline just 3 days after the end of the Olympics, and with the NHL imposing a trade freeze during the Olympics, we might see more trades real soon.

Any thoughts on who you’d like to see in a Sharks sweater…or conversely who you’d like to see NOT wearing one anymore?

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December 31st – where I left off….. well, it was great going to my first away game. Dallas won the game, but Anaheim played ok. Hiller was good in the net – Turco made an amazing diving save. I liked the arena the Stars have and the fans were wicked cool to me. Yes, even in my Ducks away jersey…..

I will not bore you with a game by game, since I’ve been off for a month. But I will update on some of the big happenings for the Anaheim Ducks and we’ll go from there.

• Joffrey Lupul had his back surgery, then developed an infection; this puts him out indefinitely. Ummmm, yeah. Then why was he on TMZ out on the town with a lady friend?? If the man is well enough to go to an LA hotspot, then he needs to be re-evaluated by a doctor. His team needs points and he’s…well….not at home resting??? He needs to take class and professionalism lessons from Teemu Selanne.

• Speaking of Selanne, he came back from his broken finger. For about 3 games before he broke his friggin’ jaw!! People! Can’t the man get a break? (no pun intended!) As of the end of January, he is back skating with the team, along with the requisite face shield, trying to get back into condition. He lost 13lbs from having his jaw wired shut. Where he lost it from is still uncertain…..

Big news this weekend: the goalie controversy has finally been resolved.

• The Ducks signed Jonas Hiller to a 4 yr/$18 extension, thereby making him the #1 goalie in Duckland. He is the future in regards to the net for Anaheim. He’s been playing almost every game for quite a while now. And he was AMAZING on the back to backs played Jan 9th and 10th – Predators and Blackhawks, respectively. So good he was named the NHL 2nd Star of the Week. (Considering the weekend before, the Ducks lost to these teams, it was great to see them play so well.) So, three years into his NHL career, Jonas Hiller is a #1 goal tender. Congrats to him and the Anaheim Ducks.

• However, the flip side of the coin is that JS Giguere was traded today to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not such a surprise where he went. I was surprised how fast he was traded (after the Hiller signing) and how sad I was to see him leave. He is an Anaheim Duck icon – he pulled them into the 2003 playoffs and took them to the Stanley Cup win. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him and he is exactly what people have said all day today: a classy guy. He’ll be reunited with Francois Allaire (who I lamented his leaving, knowing one or both of the goalies would follow) and he will be mentoring yet another Jonas. He’s closer to home, will get to play and yeah – it’s better for him. Good luck to Jiggy and his family.

• The Giguere trade came with Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake from the Leafs. I’ve seen Toskala in the net and for the season, he will be a good backup for Hiller. The Ducks will be able to dump him after the season; between that and Giguere, there is more money freed up. However, my concern is that Pogge is still in third position. My ideal situation??? Dump Pogge as well at the end of the season. Bring up Timo Pielmeier as backup to Hiller. I think he’s ready and learning under Hiller would be good. Make Marco Cousineau or Jean-Philippe Levasseur the third position goalie.

• Jason Blake – I know nothing about. I’ll wait and see him on the ice. The downside is that we sent Dan Sexton back down in order to make room for Blake. Considering how well Sexton has been playing, this Blake guy better step it up.

• Bobby Ryan is not locked up yet, but there is time for that still. Jiggy’s trade makes more money available for Ryan’s contract.

• Ryan Whitney needs either a kick in the ass or a trade. Sorry, but I don’t think he is worth the $4 mil we are paying him.

• James Wisniewski – shootout king!! He has won 2 games in the shootout for the Ducks. What’s even more fun is watching this D man AFTER the winning shot. So, he’s 2 for 2. 100%! Pretty good if you ask me!

The Ducks are sending numerous players to the Olympics this year; one of the few teams with numerous athletes!

• USA – Bobby Ryan (the second American player in franchise history to be selected)
• Canada – Scott Niedermayer (Captain), Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry
• Finland – Saku Koivu (Captain) and Teemu Selanne (Alternate)
• Switzerland – Jonas Hiller and Luca Sbisa

None of these were a shock, really. Perry maybe, but he played like a fiend in the beginning of the season. This Olympics will be hard on me; I’ve met these players and want them all to succeed. But, I can’t wait, either……

This month was up and down for the Ducks. We are still 4 points (at last look) out of a playoff spot. This shakeup may be the start of something, much like last year’s trades did. (I still don’t know WHY Pronger was traded. Can we get him back?????? I digress) If history is going to repeat itself, then the Ducks will find themselves barely in the 8th position. Again.

LETS GO DUCKS!!!!

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4th place standing in the Western Conference

6 wins out of the last 8 games including big victories against Calgary and Detroit

Teppo Numminen inducted into the ring of honor, Teppo holds numerous franchise records including most points by a defenseman (534) and was appointed the “sexiest man in Finland” honor by Coyote Captain Shane Doan.

In his triumphant return from the AHL Mikkel Boedker gets his first goal of the season

And in another first, defenseman Sami Lepisto gets his first NHL career goal

And in yet ANOTHER first, Scottie Upshall with a hat trick

The Bad

3rd period sluggishness has almost cost them a couple of wins by blowing 2 or even 3 goal leads, could it be stamina that is the problem? As of late they have been coming out in the first firing on all cylinders but seem to lose steam as they go along. Going into the 2nd period against the NY Rangers on Saturday with a 3 goal lead it should have been a game of “keep away” with the puck. Lackluster play, however gave the Rangers a chance to score 2 and nearly cost the Coyotes the game.

The Ugly

Scottie Upshall is out indefinitely with a torn ACL. One of our powerhouse scorers, this could spell a little trouble for the Coyotes but when you have everyone including defenseman such as Keith Yandle and Sami Lepisto chipping in with goals it could be enough to take up the slack.

The olympics are coming up and although I am trying to be practical about it, I can’t help but fear the break. The last time we had a break such as this momentum was lost and the Coyotes slipped from 5th place to..well let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.

All this said and done I couldn’t be happier at the way things are shaping up for the guys. With solid coaching from Dave Tippett and the “pack” mentality that is being displayed each and every game dare I say we have a playoff team in the making this season? From my mouth to the hockey gods’ ears!

Let’s Puck!

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The Flames traded: Phaneuf, RW Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for Toronto’s forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and the D-man Ian White.

Coldly, right now, I’d say that the leafs (that also acquired J-S Giguere later today) are a better team. I’d say right now, Hagman, Stajan and Mayers I don’t really know. White is a good D-man and has 26pts already in 56 games this year. He had the same total in 71 last year, so the 25 years old is on a good road for the future.

He’s a Defenseman, and as Phaneuf is the Big name we lost, let’s compare.

Dion Phaneuf
2008-2009
-11
2009-2010
+3

Ian White
2008-2009
+6
2009-2010
+1

We all know the the +/- is not a perfect science, but it’s a good one, if not the only one that makes sense to me. Time will tell wich team “won” the trade.

The fact the Sutter and the scouts team of the flames found Ignla in a trade that was weird too makes me say that: In The Flames I TRUST

Now back to the rink I still have 2 games to officiate….

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Eric Godard was injured in the game against the New York Rangers and will be out 4-6 weeks. This leaves the Penguins without a true enforcer with which many fans might say “Who cares he only averaged 4 minutes a game anyways”. I will get into that more below. Chris Kunitz is still out with this abdominal injury and the Penguins have also just received the services of Marc-Andre Fleury back. Bill Guerin was out for a couple of games along with Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot.

The Penguins have also had a difficult time with being consistent. Right when you think they are turning the corner into another long winning streak they decide to take a game off. The Penguins are definitely capable of playing with the best teams in the NHL but at this point they are just not showing the will power to play a full 60 minutes of hockey. They might have one or two good periods and then just take the next one off. This time of year, points are becoming more and more important and fought over. It is very important for the Penguins to string together some wins and make sure that they don’t fall too far back from New Jersey.

Going back to the Godard injury, as mentioned above many fans don’t believe losing Godard is a big deal. I would have to agree when it comes to winning games and ice time, however Godard is one of the few true enforcers left in the league. With him out, will we see more teams aiming for the two headed monster? Obviously there are players on the Pens squad willing to drop their gloves (Mike Rupp and Craig Adams), but are they going to help? Many people might argue that an enforcer is not relevant in today’s hockey game and I see both sides.

Luckily for the Penguins the Olympic break will help get some of these players healthy for the playoff run. My only fear is for those players playing in the Olympics (Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar, Fleury, and Orpik). Typically, we can expect less hitting in the Olympics due to the international rules which have the ice rinks bigger so that there is more ice to roam around. However, this years Olympics will have the ice rinks the same size as the NHL size ones which poses a very high possibility for some highly physical games.

This week has been a pretty slow one for the Pens as they only played Monday, Thursday, and now Sunday. Sunday’s game features a rematch of the Stanley Cup playoffs and to anyone who actually thinks this game is some kind of revenge game for Detroit they are mistaken. The regular season is nothing compared to the playoffs and regardless of who wins the game it does nothing for each team when it comes to last year. It will be interesting to see how the Pens come out to play against this beaten up Detroit team. The one thing about Detroit though, they have plenty of talent in their minor leagues and can replace players without much problem. Plus, Detroit is finally starting to get healthy again. I’m looking forward to a great game and hopefully we’ll see the Pens come out with two points.

Let’s Go Pens!

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One of the best marketing terms of the modern sports era is ‘parity’. Leagues sell us on the idea that ‘parity’ is great for the fans - that on any given day, any team can beat any other team - and that everyone has an equal chance at a championship. Really? I look at ‘parity’ as meaning ‘we needed to keep the players from taking all our money so we instituted a salary cap to keep what’s ours, and meanwhile preventing free spenders from buying all the talent’.

The NFL salary cap was nicknamed ‘The Eddie Debartolo Rule’. Eddie loved winning and he paid anything to acquire talent. The result was 5 Super Bowl titles and 15 years of winning - a dynasty that may never be repeated ever again in professional sports. Even Eddie himself said he lost a lot of money over those 15 years and if he had to do it all over again he might not. If you were a fan of the 49ers, you LOVED it. If you were the opposition, you hated it.

With free agency and a salary cap, players move from team to team to earn a bigger paycheck. Because so many players move around your average team is just that, average. But if all the teams are average, then the competition level rises. The execution, style, finesse and sophistication might not be there, but the competition is. This is what pro sports call ‘parity’.

Here’s the thing - while most sports leagues have about 70-80% of their teams falling into the ‘average’ category, they do have their slice of ‘elite’ teams. Elite teams are the one’s with ownership willing to do whatever it takes to win - including hiring management smart enough to ‘navigate’ the rules. The way you build an elite team is you have to prove your dedication to winning. You don’t show this dedication by ’saying’ to the fans you’re dedicated, you show it behind the scenes - where the players tell other players ‘this team is for real’. I’m pretty sure teams show their dedication to winning on much of the stuff fans don’t see. How well do they treat their players? What kind of training facilities do they have? How well do they travel? The 49ers used to give everyone their own hotel room, not just their stars - when they traveled. These are the dollars that can be spent outside of the salary cap, and it’s those dollars (I believe) that make the difference.

Once the word gets out that you’re a team dedicated to ‘the cause’ it becomes easier to attract talent, and your success snowballs - but not forever.

So what’s my point? Whenever I watch football I can literally see the ‘layers’ in the NFL. The 49ers are not in the top layer, they’re right smack in the fat, middle layer - the ‘parity’ layer. In hockey the layers are a little harder to see. In football, with only a 16 game season, you know each week the team is bringing their best effort so it becomes easier to see the competition level. In hockey some teams just have a bad night so it’s harder to judge. One thing for sure, the San Jose Sharks are in that top layer - and they’ve been there for a while. Unfortunately for them, another team in that layer is the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Sharks may have avoided another embarrassing home loss to the Blackhawks but that’s no consolation for the fact that they still lost. Throw in the loss to the (injured) Detroit Red Wings and you have a team that struggles against the elite layer. Here we sit again with the philosophical question about the Sharks - no one argues their talent, it’s their mental fortitude that’s in question. If you can’t rise up to beat the Red Wings and Blackhawks - at home no less - how can you expect to to rise up in April when the games count for real?

I’d rather have the Sharks split season series’ with the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators types if they could beat the top teams when they have to.

Apparently the Sharks haven’t figured out the Blackhawks, so if they’re going to beat them someone else is going to have to show them how. I believe teams have been more successful against the New England Patriots because the New York Giants ‘figured’ them out in the Super Bowl. Ever since then teams have mimicked what the Giants did and have had better success.

Someone has to figure out how to exploit that Blackhawk “Harlem Globetrotter-esque” High Cycle, and once they do you can bet everyone else is going to do the same thing.

But until then the question remains - do the Sharks have what it takes or are we watching our window close?

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As wins & losses began to pile up and the team floated through mediocrity in the first half of the season, it is tough to know much of the team at this point. One thing is known and that is the team is not going anywhere without Markov on the point. And goaltending controversy aside, the Habs team this season remains a bit of an unknown. Will they make a late season push and solidify a playoff position? Will they remain at 500% and fight for a playoff birth? Or will they tank and lock in some good tee times in April and May?

This is known though and it comes with a huge sigh of relief. Despite the fresh faces and the new names on the back of the jersey, the heritage that is the Montreal Canadiens remains. The Koivu, Komisarek and Kovalev’s of our team have long since left and are now replaced by a Gionta, a Cammallari and a Scotty Gomez. In half a season, the new faces are finally being recognized as a Hab first and their name second. The CH emblem on the front of the jersey is always bigger than the name on the back of the jersey and it was certainly my concern initially on whether or not this fresh group of players would fit in with the tradition that comes with our team. And despite a mediocre season thus far, it is comforting to know that our heritage remains. The “Koivu tap” is a thing of the past, but nowadays we have Paul Mara to thank each home game for giving the two youngsters a tap on the pads as he is the last Habs player to hit the ice. The next step we need is our team Captain being named sooner, rather than later.

The only piece of the puzzle that doesn’t seem to fit these days is that of the man behind the bench.

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It started with the return to the net of Jose Theodore. Theo was publicly frustrated with a lack of playing time as Michal Neuvirth was being given the vast majority of starts in Semyon Varlamov’s absence, but after Neuvy was pulled after conceding four against Tampa Bay, it seemed like Jose would get the start against the Panthers. However, Bruce Boudreau went with the rookie again. After giving up four goals in a period and a half, Neuvirth was once again relieved by Theodore, who backstopped the Caps’ fight back with 15 saves. Since then, Theodore seems to have been on a mission to prove he can still produce some class goaltending, and with the team winning was given the chance to do so. On January 19th, he did just that. With the always-difficult Detroit Redwings visiting Verizon Center, Theodore produced a fantastic display of goaltending, stopping 44 of 46 shots faced as the Caps won 3-2. He was afterwards congratulated by owner Ted Leonsis, as all in attendance were amazed by one of the best goaltending performances by a Capitals’ goalie in recent years. Theodore also recorded an assist on Nick Backstrom’s game-tying goal. With Theo performing excellently, all was good – and Neuvirth returned to winning ways with a solid performance against the Phoenix Coyotes to keep the streak alive – but on Wednesday night, there were fears over Theodore’s health. With the Caps already up 6-2, Theodore was relieved by Neuvirth, as it seemed Boudreau was resting him for Thursday’s clash with the Anaheim Ducks. However it soon became clear that the veteran had picked up an injury. After the game, the team revealed he had picked up a lower-body injury (it turned out to be a hip flexor injury), and was not going to be available for the Ducks game. With Varly already out, this left Neuvirth to start, with 20 year-old Braden Holtby called up from Hershey as backup. After Neuvirth’s previous performances, I was worried he would be lacking confidence, especially against a very good Anaheim side. As it turned out, my fears of the streak ending were unnecessary, as the Caps won 5-1, with Neuvy stopping 30 of 31 shots.

Earlier in the season, I was worried about the Capital’s goaltending situation, with Theodore seeming inconsistent as a backup for young Varlamov. When Varly got injured my fears kicked up a gear. Neuvirth settled my nerves a bit with some good performances to almost take over the number two spot from Theodore. I was ready to start considering potential trades to get rid of Theodore. But then, almost out of nowhere, Theo showed the kind of play he is capable of. I’m not completely sold; I would still accept trading him, and bringing in a veteran goalie to share time with Varlamov (I hear Turco might be available soon), but if Theodore consistently plays the way he has during this streak, we don’t need to change anything in net.

Neuvirth’s performances, ignoring the short but deep dip in form in Florida, also give great hope for the future. Varlamov is still young too, and, if he stays healthy, can be a great goalie. I haven’t seen anything of Holtby really, but his stats in the AHL are incredible – he’s 15-2-1 with a GAA of 1.82 and SV% of .935 – so he looks like he could be ready for the NHL sooner rather than later. So not only the present, but the future of the Caps’ goaltending, is looking very bright indeed.

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When you consider which current members of the Vancouver Canucks roster fit the role of the teams aggressors, most would agree that the likes of Rypien, Hordichuk and relative newcomer Tanner Glass are the teams resident hard men. They serve as valuable members of their organization who can be very versatile, bringing physical aggression and skill to their team. Glass, Rypien and Hordichuk are all notorious for their penchant to drop the gloves. Rick Rypien is considered by some to be the middle weight fighting champion of the NHL. Perhaps his ability to fight is due to the fact that his Dad was a former Canadian Golden Gloves boxing champion as a young man. Hordichuk, even spent time training with former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell during the summer of 2008.

Each of these forwards are very good at the defensive aspect of the game, often playing as a third or checking line type player who can be relied on to kill penalties while also possessing enough skill to contribute offensively, scoring goals or adding assists when needed. Wingers of this ilk are not expected to score goals every night and with Vancouver’s top two lines playing as brilliantly as they currently are some might wonder if having an abundance of secondary scorers is as imperative as it could be if the Canucks were struggling to win games. Will the Sedins, Burrows, Raymond and his second line mates continue to dominate once the Canucks are deep into the team’s grueling Olympic road trip, or during the play offs?

Vancouver’s three tough guys are very important to the team but do lack some of the scoring prowess of other third or fourth line players. The last time a member of the Vancouver tough guy trio registered a point was when Rypien scored a goal on January 5th 2010 during a win against the Blue Jackets. Tanner Glass hasn’t contributed to team scoring since December 31st 2010 and it’s been even longer for Hordichuk since he collected a point way back on November 5th 2010. When you also consider that players like Wellwood, Bernier and Hansen, who are supposed to offer support to the teams main offensive threats are underachieving more times than not, is there such a great demand for three skaters who are more likely to spend five minutes in the penalty box for fighting than scoring the game wining goal; wouldn’t one enforcer be enough for Vancouver? Surely having three offensively skilled goal scorers play on the bottom two lines would be of greater benefit to the Canucks organization than three brawlers?

As Mentioned earlier Georges Laraque is a player who is well know for his militant fist first mentality and he forged a twelve-year career playing that way. That was until last week when he was told that the Montreal Canadiens would rather do without his services. Laraques’s head coach Jacques Martin said that he didn’t need a player of Laraque’s nature to win games. Martin also said “The Red Wings, I don’t think they have an enforcer and they’ve won some Cups. The game has changed and speed has become a major factor. ” Will the tough guy eventually become a thing off the past, perhaps not? The NHL will undoubtedly find homes for players like Rypien and his cohorts. The question still remains do Vancouver need as many tough guys as they currently have and can they prove to be a winning formula?

All feedback is greatly welcomed. If you love hockey you can follow me on www.twitter.com/canuckulhead

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Wednesday night, the flames will play in Dallas, a team that only won four of their last ten, but they won against Minnesota and Detroit just last week. Plus they’re three points behind Calgary and the 9th seed in the west, they will be hungry! After the game, the team will leave the Lone Star state for the desert and cactus of Phoenix. The coyotes play well this season and as of now sit in the 9th place Overall. They won 5 of their last 10, with a shootout lost. I give them the edge for the reason that they won the last (and only) time the Flames traveled to Glendale this season.

I really hope I’m wrong thought, because the battle of Alberta might be the only thing motivating the Oilers that are dead last in the league. If the flames come home Saturday with a nine straight losing streak, the crowd might be in a really bad mood and if the Oilers so much as score first…..

Why so pessimist you ask? First of all when the curtains closed on 2009, the flames were fighting for the lead in the division, with an ambition for the conference. Now here we are almost a month later, Calgary now is fighting for a playoff spot. 10 points separate the 7th seed from the 14th, the flames are one point behind Detroit in 9th. Don’t even talk to me about the division. The flames now are third, eight points behind Colorado (THE surprise of the year I think) and Vancouver. Calgary now doesn’t have any games in hand on those two teams.

How do we get there? I don’t know if the rumors of trade, the non selection of Phaneuf, Regehr and Bouwmester for the Canadian team had anything to do with it. The team is struggling and can’t buy a goal. The month of January looks like this: 3-8-1. During witch sequence they lost 9-1 in San Jose, and been shutout or score only one goal in 6 of those games.

I’m too depressed to continue right now, but you know how it is, they’ll eventually win three in a row, and I’ll be the happiest man of the world.

Twitter.com/cedric34

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The Sharks have an overall winning percentage of .660. However - in games where the Sharks have more than one day off in between, they’re an average .500 team. A sixteen percent difference may not seem like much, but in my football pool the difference between first place and (relatively) last place (where I sit), the difference is approximately 16%. And if you look in the conference standings, with the exception of the Detroit Red Wings, a .500 winning percentage puts you out of the playoffs.

Todd McLellan speculated that when the team is well rested they tend to over think things and make things more complicated than need be. When the team is tired they play better because they don’t think as much. Can you imagine applying that concept to your own job - that if you thought about your job less you’d do better work?! I wish that were true for me.

I hope the Sharks don’t think too much on Thursday…

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They are currently 2-3-2 from their last 7, but were 5-1-1 from the 7 before that. Crazy isn’t it? We’ve lost 2 of the 3 games at home this month, and there are two more to go (Coyotes come to Detroit tonight).

I mean, what’s going on? We play well for two weeks, and then we drop out for two. The Islanders game was shocking, and I touched on it last blog, so I won’t go into detail. Next up, we fought hard and beat Carolina at home to take two points and prove that the Islanders game wasn’t a trend.

Next up, we took a trip to Texas and faced the Stars. A tight game after Detroit roared into a 2-goal lead in the 1st, and then got pegged back in the 2nd and 3rd, before one of the most controversial shootouts ever. Ott’s effort hit Howard, and landed on the goal line. Howard’s scramble to remove the puck was successful on the second attempt, whilst the official closest to the play said no goal. The two trailing officials said goal, so it went to video replay. The video footage was non-conclusive, and so the officials decided that they would vote, and as the decisions had gone earlier, they vote 2 to 1 in favour of a goal. Ott’s goal stood, and Eaves was unable to level the tally, so Dallas took the win.

The next night, Chicago came to the Joe, where the game again was very tight, and at 3-3, went to OT and eventually a shootout. The moves displayed by the players and goaltenders in this shootout have to be seen to be believed. Some of the talent shown to score and save these shots is just astounding. Datsyuk and Bertuzzi scored the really flashy efforts, whilst the other big news from this game was Patrick Eaves. He fought Versteeg in the first period, in what ranks up there in the best fights I’ve ever seen. Eaves said afterwards that the fight was due to some history between the two, and boy, you could tell.

Against the Capitals, Detroit dominated the game. The Caps offense was uncharacteristically quiet as Detroit romped through the first two periods, throwing 31 shots at Theodore, but still coming out the start of the 3rd in a 1-1 game. Detroit took the lead again, before the Capitals scored twice in a minute to take the game away from the Wings. The defence did their job, with a certain Mr Ovechkin limited to no goals, 1 assist, no shots and a -1 points tally. The Wings outshot the Caps 46-23, but still couldn’t put the puck in the net enough to take the game. Osgood was preferred during this game, and it seemed goaltenders were key. Theodore won the game for Washington, no doubt.

The Wild were next, and provided the Wings with the 3rd shootout in 4 games. At 3-3 (Eaves on the scoresheet again), the game went to OT and finally to the shootout. Howard must have been dreading this. Luckily though, as the shootout entered its 8th round, Belanger was denied by Howard, and Miller was able to score on his attempt, giving the Wings their first OT win since Dec 11th 09 .

Finally, LA came to the Joe, and found themselves 2-0 down in the first 8 minutes. As usual though, the Wings weren’t able to hold the lead, and LA were able to fight back into the contest, eventually taking the game 3-2. Also worth noting that in the second intermission, a bloke was found climbing the catwalks above the ice. He had to be removed by the authorities before the game could continue.

So the defence looks good. We’re outshooting a lot of other teams and we’re managing to limit the influence of big players. However, the goaltending is an issue. We’re outshooting teams that we then lose to. Also, the offence is a big problem. As was pointed out to me earlier today, Detroit have scored the least goals in the league, except for Boston, putting us 29th in the list of goalscoring. This is simply not good enough. Injuries are only a partial excuse. The defence works. We have conceded just 128 goals, which gives us the 7th best defence in the league. So what do we need?

A goaltender, proven at this level and that can handle this pressure? A rugged, scrappy forward, to help Helm, Eaves, and Filppula to make the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th lines more productive? I think perhaps we need both.

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of the two teams in the first and second periods, especially when playing five on five. Sam Gagner was the first skater to get points on the board. The Oilers were in the middle of a line change that seemed to disorientate the Canucks leaving Gagner open in front of the Vancouver net allowing him to easily shoot the puck past Luongo. Grebeshkov had the assist on Gagner’s goal, which was the only power play goal for the Oilers. Later on in the first Burrows, Sedin and Sedin once again proved why they are one of the best trios in the league as Burrows tied the game with assists from Daniel and Henrik. That goal now sees Burrows with a current total of twenty-two so far this season.

The Oilers started the middle frame with their second goal just two minutes into the period. Marc Pouliot won the battle for the puck that saw the teams deep in the Canucks offensive zone; Pouliot passed the puck back to Souray who fired the puck past an unsuspecting Luongo. The Oilers were by far the better team in the period. If it hadn’t been for Luongo’s skill and determination, players like O’Sullivan and Gagner could have extended the Oilers lead.

During the final period Vancouver took more control of the game but failed to equalize until late in the third when they were on a four on three power play advantage. With help from the twins, Sami Salo skated from the point and blasted the puck past Dubnyk taking the game to overtime.

From the start of the extra frame the Oilers once again found themselves killing a three on four penalty. The Canucks quickly took advantage of that fact and sealed the win when Henrik Sedin made an excellent pass to his brother Daniel who was open in front of the Edmonton goal, the Canucks sniper tapped the puck into the net for the 3-2 win.

Vancouver’s next opponent will be the Dallas Stars who are currently sat in tenth place with forty-nine points. The Stars have won each of their last two games. The Most recent win came against the Wild on Monday where the Stars won 3-4 at home. If Vancouver is victorious against the Stars they will narrow the gap between them and Colorado. Vancouver has sixty points the Avalanche have sixty-two.

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The Slump - remember that 5-game losing streak that had all of us (well, maybe it was just me) thinking all doom and gloom a month ago? I did some research around Sharks’ losing streaks and found that they are in fact, quite a rarity. The question was how the Sharks were going to respond and how that response compared to losing streaks of the past. Their last losing streak was followed by winning 18 of 20 games (.900%). Currently, the Sharks are sitting at 14 of 17 (.824%). Like I said, the Sharks are pretty consistent.

The Scoring - Two seasons ago the problem with the Sharks was a lack of secondary scoring. Opponents just had to neutralize Joe Thornton and they had a good chance of beating us. This season, although I’m very excited about the seasons Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley are having, Joe Thronton was once again the driving force behind all our scoring. That has suddenly changed. As discussed on Comcast Sports Net California’s Post Game show following last night’s Sharks-Kings game, swapping Many Malhotra (to second line) and Ryan Clowe (to third line) has resulted in VERY dramatic results - 18 goals in the last three games.

The Olympics - With the Olympic break rapidly approaching you have to wonder if the break will help or hurt the Sharks. It’s like the bye week in football, there’s never been a definitive answer as to how it affects a team, except that it affects different teams differently. After the last Olympic break in 2006 the Sharks were 9-5-2 for the month of March (plus one last game in February). NHL Home Ice speculated that right now, teams are just trying to use the break as motivation to positions themselves as best they can in the standings knowing that no one knows what’s going to happen when play resumes.

The Trade - Finally Ray Ratto speculated that, with Ryan Clowe finally coming alive (13 goals, 22 assists - now 5th on the team in points despite the very slow start), he’s now trade bait should the Sharks want to beef up their blue line. Personally I’d rather keep Clowe - I’m tired of trading players. I think the Sharks have traded enough over the years - another trade isn’t the difference between the 1st round and the Stanley Cup Championship. What do you think?

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According to the Business Journal, Daryl Jones, COO of the group, says negotiations are “moving forward” and that they are commited to a long term lease in Glendale which houses Jobing.com Arena. With this commitment it’s suggested in the article that Glendale officials would be “open” to the Coyotes playing a “handful” of games in Saskatoon…as I feared.

Jones is quoted as being in it for the long haul and “it’s all about getting the fans to believe in you”. That is one statement I can get behind. The article further indicates that Jones does not want to do anything that would erode support for the team in Arizona.

This has been an additional fear and one I have been talking about since the group threw its hat in the ring. Attendance and fan support have been a difficult obstacle and playing in a new arena in Saskatoon may not do the cause any favor.

Also intriguing is the fact that among other businessmen, John Breslow is part of the Ice Edge group. Breslow apparently was a minority owner when Jerry Moyes still owned the team. The same Moyes who played a very large part in the financial failure and eventual bankruptcy of the Coyotes. I am making no assumptions or judgements here except to say it is verrrrry interesting.

It looks like things are heating up on the ice again here in the desert.

Let’s Puck!

The Phoenix Business Journal Article

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Okay, things could be worse, the Penguins can just call up Brad Thiessen, the backup goaltender in Wilkes-Barre behind Curry.

Problem #1: Thiessen just played Friday night on the East Coast and flying him out in time for the game against Vancouver was not an option.

So, the Pittsburgh Penguins turned to their 5th round draft pick in 2008, 19 year old Alex Pechursky. Pechursky had just arrived in North America one month earlier and could not speak a word of English.

Okay, so no reason to panic yet. John Curry is still the starter and he played well last year while filling in when Fleury was out. Unless Curry is injured or is chased from the net, their is no reason to worry, right?

Problem #2: Curry gives up 5 goals (3 of which were in a matter of approximately 5 minutes).

Coach Dan Bylsma makes the tough decision. He had to take Curry out and throw the 19 year old Pechursky to the wolves. So here comes a kid who has zero games of experience in the NHL or AHL for that matter. He had played well so far while he was in North America (4-1-1 with two shutouts) but those were against junior players.

Pechursky came in and played well all things considered. He made no major mistakes and only gave up one goal on the power play. Even Marc-Andre Fleury would have been unable to make that save as Ryan Kesler tipped in a bouncing shot by Mason Raymond. Pechursky made a total of 12 saves and did a great job sticking to the basics and playing fundamental hockey.

At the end of the game, Pechursky was awarded the third start by Vancouver which shows a lot about Vancouver. It has been reported that when he was announced as the third start the crowd stood and applauded him. Pechursky had to ask his coach to repeat himself when he was told he would be flying to Vancouver to play with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had to have Ruslan Fedotenko translate for him in the locker room.

What a story. Yes, after the game he was sent back to the KHL to continue his development and most likely still has a few years before we will be seeing him again. Yes, the Penguins got their butts handed to them. Pechursky, however, had a very large smile. What a day for that kid and what a performance.

Note: I have to give respect to Vancouver and it’s fans. I guarantee that at least half of the NHL’s team’s fan base would have had no idea the circumstances in which the visiting team’s backup goalie came in under. Vancouver fans did and they showed it. A standing ovation for a 19 year old kid playing for the visiting team that was easily handed defeat by the Canucks…impressive.

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Seen as the answer to many a Phoenix Coyote fan the group has seemingly gone MIA. Has the NHL gone sour on the idea? My opinion from the beginning has been that their motives seem a little sketchy.  With the let’s-play-some-games-in-Canada approach to the ownership, it appeared as a badly veiled plot to move the team north. Quoting one of my favorite movies from the 80’s “something stinks in suburbia” Or is it that the NHL has seen the potential of the team and have decided to hold out for a better offer?
 
Whatever the reason, it’s interesting that there has been no news and we are well past the halfway point in the season. Sitting in a respectable 5th position and tied in points with the Nashville Predators, the Coyotes could make it to the playoffs and finally get some of the respect they deserve. A lot can happen in the next few months, however I remain cautiously optimistic. 
 
Time will tell on the sale and the playoffs but until then..Go Yotes!
 
Let’s Puck! 

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As the Blackhawks embarked on their longest road trip of the year, it was apparent that it was not going to be easy. With a seemingly comfortable 3-1 lead in the first period, the host Blue Jackets ripped off three straight tallies to take a one goal lead into the third period. It was at that point that Hawks’ captain Jonathan Toews decided to put the squad on his shoulders and march them to victory by registering a pair of power play markers in the third to secure a victory for the Blackhawks.

While at times the play looked sloppy after taking the 3-1 lead, it speaks volumes about the maturity and confidence of the team and coaching staff that they were able to calmly step back, assess the situation, and take the necessary steps to come away with two points. There was no panic in the eyes of the Blackhawks as they took the ice in the third, but a definite sense of urgency, twice converting with the man advantage, continuing a stretch of power play success in 11 of the last 13 games.

Certainly a point of concern is the five goals notched by the Blue Jackets in the game. I would place two, maybe three of the goals on Cristobal Huet, with the balance on backchecking miscues and solid play-making by Columbus. To reiterate, it’s a season-high eight game road trip, and the reality is, teams are going to score more goals in their own buildings. The Blackhawks are going to have to up their offensive output as they did Saturday afternoon to keep pace and maximize the points they take home. The next four contests are going to be very telling for the Hawks, as three of the matchups feature teams they squared off with in the playoffs last season, and will most likely be intensely physical and emotional games. The Blackhawks will need to bring everything they have to the ice to come away with victories. And it seems that the youngster that dons the “C” will do everything in his power to make sure that happens.

-Hackett

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For the Penguins what can be one of the best cures for bad play and unmotivated hockey? How about a 5 game road trip? Let’s think back to last year after Dan Bylsma took over for Michel Therrien and they went 5-0 on 5 game road trip which turned the tide of losing and in the end brought Lord Stanley back to Pittsburgh.

This road trip provided an opportunity and so far the Pens have done well beating Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton with a loss to Minnesota as well. Tomorrow night the Penguins will be taking on Vancouver in the last game of their road trip. Another win could bring the Penguins back to life when they return to Mellon Arena on Tuesday.

On the injury report, Brooks Orpik should be back soon as he is back skating. The hits recorded for Pittsburgh since his injury have dropped drastically and it will be nice to get his physical presence back out on defense for the Pens.

When Brooks Orpik does return the question will be who is going to be sent down? Martin Skoula has been in the dog house recently and has been a healthy scratch for a while now. Ben Lovejoy was called up and has played solid hockey. Both of these players would have to pass through waivers before making it to Wilkes-Barre. Most players who are brought up from the minor league always hope in the back of their mind that they will be staying up with the big club, but rarely does that happen.

For Ben Lovejoy, I could definitely see this happening. If I had to choose between Lovejoy or Skoula, I would go with Lovejoy. Skoula played solid hockey for the first two months but after that his play had greatly deteriorated. Chances are that Lovejoy could be sticking around with the big club for the rest of the year. It will be interesting to see what GM Ray Shero decides to do.

That’s all for now.

Let’s Go Pens!

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