Off Wing Opinion

In St. Louis, the Flyers scored five times in eight power play chances, drubbing the Blues 7-2. The Flyers boast the league's best power play, scoring 37 times in 150 chances, while St. Louis is tops on the penalty kill, stopping opponents 71 of 82 times so far this year. Both Mark Rechhi and Jeremy Roenick scored twice for Philadelphia, who chased St. Louis starter Brent Johnson after scoring three times on their first 13 shots.

Unable to score on five power play chances, Boston was shut out at home for the fifth time this season, this time by Ottawa, 3-0. Martin Prusek stopped 24 shots for Ottawa, as the Senators stretched their unbeaten string to seven games. Boston is 0-5-4 in their last nine home games. Joe McDonald at MOFO Sports thinks Bruins GM Mike O'Connelll's days are numbered, and mentioned Vancouver GM Brian Burke as a possible replacement.

In Edmonton, Mike York scored twice, helping the Oilers to a 2-2 tie with Minnesota. Manny Fernandez had 38 saves for the Wild. And out on the coast, the Rangers got their second win on their Western road trip, beating Los Angeles 4-3 in OT. Tom Poti got the game winner in New York, his second in 24 hours after his game winning score in Phoenix the night before. Los Angeles has played into OT in seven of their last 11 games.

Steve Ovadia loves hockey, but wishes their were more nights like this one in Philadelphia, where the AHL Phantoms and the Binghamtom Sentors threw down in a wild third period:

What happened here in the final 3:50 was entirely unexpected, and it all started innocently enough. Phantoms wing Mike Peluso (not the same Mike Peluso who earned almost 2,000 penalty minutes in nine NHL seasons) jostled with Senators goalie Ray Emery, who had shut out Philadelphia for the game's first 49:04.

Emery and Peluso exchanged words -- "I think I said, 'Watch it, Mike,' or something like that, then I said, 'In another couple of minutes you could be in trouble,'" Emery recalled.

It took only a couple of seconds.

Peluso raised his stick to Emery, who reacted by raising his, and they dropped the gloves. Senators enforcer Brian McGrattan and Phantoms counterpart Jim Vandermeer, who had picked a simultaneous fight, joined the Peluso-Emery melee, and Philadelphia goalie Neil Little skated the length of ice and leapt on top of the pile.

"I looked up, and (Little) was coming full tilt," said center Dan Riva, who joined the Senators on a tryout contract two days earlier and found himself in the middle of the fracas. "I was shocked. I was frozen. I couldn't believe the height he got (on the jump)."

The Philly roster boasts such notables as Off Wing favorites, PJ Stock and Craig Berube -- both of who made sure they got in on the fun. Heck, even Tom Benjamin's favorite waiver wire acquisition, Wade Brookbank, made sure he got in on the fun. Will somebody please send me the video on this brawl?

UPDATE: The AHL league office has suspended three Philadelphia players in connection with the aforementioned brawl. And thanks to DJ Spicerack, for this link to video footage of all the fun.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2003 at 8:42 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

On Long Island, Mark Parrish had a pair of goals to lead the Islanders to a 3-1 win over the Devils. It was the second two-goal game in a row for Parrish, who has five in his last three games. After being regularly dominated by the Devils, the Islanders lead the season series, 3-1-0-1. Will someone rid me of this meddlesome regulation tie? If you're filling out an All-Star ballot, be sure to mark down New York's Adrian Aucoin, currently leading all NHL defenseman in plus/minus, and near the top in most every other category.

Quietly, Aucoin, left, is having a Norris-quality season.

In other Islanders news, goalie Rick DiPietro has been sent to the minors to get some playing time -- at his own request. DiPietro hasn't played since head coach Steve Stirling pulled him from a game in Washington on December 21.

The Bruins broke out of an 0-4-2 skid, beating the Capitals in Washington, 3-1. Hal Gill ended his 60-game goal scoring drought to tie the game for the Bruins. As for All-Star candidates, mark down Joe Thornton for Boston, and Robert Lang for Washington. Sorry Caps fans, there's only so much you can say about a team this bad. Martin Lapointe sat out the game, serving a one-game suspension for a cross-check he unloaded on Tampa Bay's Brad Luckowich.

Meanwhile in Raleigh, the Hurricanes won for the fourth time in six games under new head coach Peter Laviolette, beating Buffalo 2-1. As of right now, there's nobody worth an All-Star mention on either club, unless you're willing to make a Commissioner's exception for the ageless Ron Francis.

In Tampa, the visiting Ducks shut out the Lightning, 2-0. J.S. Giguere stopped 31 shots to get the win for Anaheim. In Pittsburgh, Tom Surovy got the only goal in the Penguins 1-0 win over Chicago. Chicago's road winless streak has now reached 12 games (0-11-0-1).

The Blues gained some ground in the Central Division with a 3-2 win over Columbus. Doug Weight had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Johnson scored the game winner for St. Louis with just 3:44 remaining. With 45 points, the Blues trail idle Detroit by four points with an amazing six games in hand. In Atlanta, Jose Theodore had 13 of his 26 saves in the third period for Montreal, as they defeated the Thrashers 2-1.

Further South in Florida, Owen Nolan scored two third period goals in Toronto's 4-4 tie with Las Panteras. Ed Belfour had 35 saves for Toronto, Roberto Luongo had 34 for Florida. The Panthers are unbeaten in their last six at home (3-0-3).

In Ken Hitchcock's first trip back to Dallas since becoming coach of the Flyers, Philadelphia tied the Stars 2-2. It wasn't much of a homecoming, as only four players from the 2000 Stanley Cup Champion Stars that Hitchcock coached still remain on the roster today. As for All-Star contenders, only goalie Marty Turco has been playing like one as of late, while Sergei Zubov deserves nothing more than a one-way plane ticket out of town. In Philly, the pick has to be goalie Robert Esche, who's proving to be the more reliable of the goalie tandem with veteran Jeff Hackett.

In Calgary, the Flames tied the Wild by the same 2-2 score. Further South in Phoenix, the Coyotes dropped their second straight game in the new Glendale (Your Name Here) Arena, losing to the Rangers 3-2. The defensively challenged Tom Poti got the game winning goal in OT. Out in the Bay Area, the Sharks scored three times in the first period and never looked back, beating the Predators 5-2.

And in the game of the night, a late goal by Mike Keane gave the Canucks a 3-2 win over the Avalanche in Denver. Steve Konowalchuk had a pair of goals for Colorado, as they had a late rally derailed when Peter Forsberg was flagged for roughing with less than two minutes to go after the battling Swede had landed a punch to Canucks' goalie Dan Cloutier's groin.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2003 at 3:14 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Andre Roy got a goal early in the third period to help Tampa Bay earn a 1-1 tie with Boston, but the big news from the Fleet Center ice was Lightning head coach John Tortorella benching Vincent Lecavalier in the second period for not shooting the puck:

Lecavalier didn't shoot the puck during a three-on-two and was punished for it.

"An awful call," Lecavalier said of Tortorella's decision. "Offensively, I go with my instincts. If I think the play is to make a play, that's what I do. It didn't work out. I'm just going to keep playing hard. If I get benched for it, that's fine."

Tortorella fired back.

"Interesting. It wasn't the proper call?" he said. "Let's forget about the backhanded turnover. Let's talk about trying to play hard.

"He's got to start playing in the team concept. I don't care who he is or who he thinks he is."

This isn't the first time this season that head coach and budding superstar have clashed in Tampa Bay, and it probably won't be the last. Especially when the tenor is just like this. With Tampa Bay reportedly interested in Islanders defenseman Roman Hamrlik (who was a scratch on Wednesday night), might the tempermental youngster be headed for Long Island?

Gary Roberts scored twice to help Toronto to a 5-2 win over Florida. The Leafs have now earned a standings point in 15 straight games, and stand atop the Eastern Conference with 49 points at the Christmas break, not exactly where I expected them to be just a few weeks ago.

In Chicago, Michael Leighton made 23 saves in the Blackhawks' 3-0 win over the Blues. After starting December with a nine-game unbeaten streak, the Blues have now dropped two in a row. The win was only the second in 21 games for the Blackhawks (2-12-4-3).

Minnesota is now unbeaten in its last six games after tying Nashville, 3-3. Calgary continued its winning ways, dumping visiting Edmonton, 2-1. Rick Nash scored his 21st goal of the season, but it wasn't enough as Phoenix beat Columbus, 2-1.

In Buffalo, the Sabres blew a 2-0 lead, and had to settle for a 2-2 tie with Ottawa. And finally, in Washington, Peter Bondra scored with less than a minute remaining in regulation to give the Captials a 3-2 win over Montreal. The Capitals are now 3-2-2 under new head coach Glen Hanlon.

After Wednesday's games, the NHL takes a two-day Holiday for Christmas. Look for our next NHL Roundup on Monday, December 29.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2003 at 12:13 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

In Detroit, the Red Wings took a three point lead in the Central Division with a 2-1 win over St. Louis. Ray Whitney had the game winning goal for Detroit with only 5:15 remaining. The loss snapped a nine-game unbeaten string (7-0-2) for the Blues, who had been undefeated so far this month. The Blues have only lost twice in their las 14 games (9-2-3), but both of those losses have come against the Red Wings. Curtis Joseph, who has been playing better of late, had 24 saves for Detroit. As always, for a more in-depth wrap-up, check out On The Wings.

At Madison Square Garden, the Rangers clawed their way back to .500 with a 4-2 win over struggling Boston. Bobby Holik and Peter Nedved both scored twice for New York, but it was Mike Dunham's save on Patrice Bergeron in the final minute that preserved the win for New York. Boston is now 1-5-4 in their last 10 games, and owner Jeremy Jacobs isn't exactly happy.

Struggling Dallas won its first game in Carolina since 1998, a 3-1 win. Jere Lehtinen had two goals for Dallas. The loss was the first for Carolina since Peter Laviolette took over for ex-head coach Paul Maurice. In Montreal, the Canadiens kept pace in the Eastern Conference, beating Pittsburgh 4-1. Defenseman Sheldon Souray had a goal and an assist for Montreal.

In lovely Kanata, Todd White scored 1:34 into OT, to give the Senators a 3-2 win over visiting Florida. Martin Prusek had 19 saves for Ottawa in the win. Valeri Bure scored twice for Florida.

Phoenix got another third period goal on the road, this time from Shane Doan, as they earned a 3-3 tie with Nashville. Doan also added a pair of assists to frustrate Nashville, which wasted a hat trick from Scott Walker. In San Jose, the Sharks edged Anaheim 2-1. Jonathan Cheechoo had the game winner for San Jose, which has been quietly climbing the standings in the Pacific Divsion.

And in the game of the night, Vancouver came back from a three goal deficit to tie the Kings, 4-4. The game was the fifth straight home game for the Canucks that's gone into OT. Jarko Ruutu, who hadn't scored in 26 games, completed the comeback when he scored with 3:54 remaining in regulation. Ziggy Palffy scored twice for the Kings.

In the off-ice rumor mill, word out of Calgary is that the Flames are trying to restructure Jarome Iginla's contract to make it more financially palatable for the club. Over at Canucks Corner, Tom Benjamin has 5 reccomendations on how to improve the game. Start here and work your way backward. Over at SharksPage, PJ Swenson has a great holiday shopping guide for the table top hockey fan.

Heatley is back in body. His spirit is another matter.

In Duluth, Georgia, Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers practiced for the first time today since the car accident that took the like of teammate Dan Snyder. Heatley plans to talk to the press at a Friday news conference. Over at ESPN.com, Eric Adelson looks at how Snyder's death has transformed the Thrashers.

In Southern New Jersey, Donald Brashear of the Philadelphia Flyers has been charged with drunken driving. On a happier note, Peter Forsberg has started practicing with the Colorado Avalanche again, this after an abdominal injury has kept him off the ice for 18 games this season. In Toronto, a deal to sell Maple Leaf Gardens and turn it into a grocery store has collapsed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2003 at 12:59 pm by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Central Division leading finished the weekend with a slim two-point lead over St. Louis. On Friday, the Red Wings picked up a 3-2 win over hapless Chicago. Just one night later, the Wings didn't have an answer for Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun, getting shutout 1-0.

Despite having that two point lead over the Blues, it's important to point out that St. Louis, which has only lost six times this year in regulation, and is still undefeated in December (7-0-2), has played six fewer games. Speaking of St. Louis, they fell another point off Detroit's pace, after a 1-1 tie with Phoenix on Saturday night at home. Chris Osgood had 24 saves for the Blues, while Sean Burke had 30 for Phoenix.

Toronto stretched their lead over Boston in the Northeast Division to nine points, with a 2-2 tie in Washington on Friday, and a 4-2 win over Montreal on Saturday night. The Leafs have now earned a standings point in 14 straight games. With the game-winning goal against Montreal, Mats Sundin recorded his 714th point as a Maple Leaf, moving him past George Armstrong for fourth most in club history.

After getting shut out in back to back games last week, the Thrashers scored 11 goals over the weekend, beating Pittsburgh 7-4, and Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia, 4-1. For the weekend, Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk had three goals, four assists, and was plus 3. The Thrashers now lead the Southeast Division over Tampa Bay by seven points.

Long Island resident Walt Whitman once said,"consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds." If that's the case, then the New York Islanders must be one of the most open minded teams in the NHL. After dropping a 3-1 decision in Philadelphia on Saturday, the team won its first game in Washington since 1997, beating the Capitals, 5-4.

It was another one of those nights for Olie Kolzig

Washington took an early 3-1 lead, as Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro allowed three goals on the Captials' first nine shots. He was replaced in the second period by Garth Snow, who stopped 12 of Washington's last 13 shots to earn the victory. Before last night's win, the Islanders were 0-13-2 in their last 15 games against Washington. Olie Kolzig, who had been benched the previous two games in favor of rookie Maxime Ouelett, stopped 39 of New York's 44 shots.

Off the ice, three Canadian hockey heroes, former NHL players Kirk McLean and Tiger Williams, along with Cassie Campbell of the Canadian Women's Olympic Ice Hockey Team, visited with Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2003 at 12:26 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Jarome Iginla had two goals as the Calgary Flames continued their torrid play with a 5-0 victory over the Bruins in Boston. The Flames scored all five of their goals on their first nine shots, and Jamie McLennan had 30 saves to record his third shutout of the season. The Flames are 7-1-2-1 in their last 10 games.

Oliwa and the Flames laid a beating on Boston.

A Jeff O'Neill OT goal made new Carolina head coach Peter Laviolette a winner in his debut, as the Hurricanes beat the Penguins, 2-1. Kevin Weekes got the win in goal for Carolina.

Martin St. Louis had two goals in Tampa Bay's 5-4 comeback win over Philadelphia. The dimunitive St. Louis tied the game in the third, and scored the OT game winner for the Lightning. After starting the season undefeated at home in 14 games, the Flyers have dropped three straight at the Wachovia Center. Steve Ovadia says the Flyers shouldn't expect an immediate boost from Mike Comrie, if and when he gets around to signing a contract.

In Montreal, Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray continued his improved play, notching the first hat trick of his career in a 5-4 OT win over Nashville. Souray has 11 goals this season, this in a career when he had never scored more than three previously. Saku Koivu and Richard Zednik also scored for Montreal. Montreal goalie Jose Theodore had to leave the game, after an injury he suffered in the pre-game warmup got too sore for him to continue.

In lovely and scenic Kanata, the Senators crushed the hapless Blackhawks 6-1. Marian Hossa had a pair of goals for Ottawa. In Atlanta, Martin Broduer notched his eighth shutout of the season, as the Devils beat the Thrashers, 3-0.

At Madison Square Garden, the Rangers withstood a late Islanders charge in the third period to hold on for a 4-3 win. With the win, Rangers goalie Mike Dunham earned his second victory over the Islanders this season. In St. Louis, the Blues beat the Sharks 4-2 to remain undefeated at home in the month of December.

In the snoozer of the night, Minnesota tied the Oilers in Edmonton, 1-1. Brad Isbister woke up long enough to remember he gets paid to play hockey and scored Edmonton's only goal. And in Los Angeles, the Kings blew a 3-0 first period lead, and had to settle for a 4-4 tie with Phoenix. The tie ended the Kings' four-game winning streak, and marked the fifth time this season that the Coyotes have tied an opponent with two minutes or less remaining in regulation.

Off the ice, the PPV hockey goon boxing tournament has attracted the attention of fomer St. Louis Blue, Tony Twist. In Toronto, a woman has accused the late Harold Ballard, one-time owner of the Maple Leafs, of sexual abuse that she alleged began when she was just 10 years old.

And in an incredible act of public forgiveness, the family of the late Keith Magnuson has publicly forgiven Rob Ramage for any role he might have played in Magnuson's death. Ramage was driving the car when Magnuson was killed in an auto accident earlier this week.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 19th, 2003 at 7:47 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Brendan Shanahan's OT goal capped a late comeback for Detroit, as the Red Wings beat the Sharks, 3-2. The Wings, who have won nine of their last 12 games, tied the score late in the third on a goal by Pavel Datsyuk, his 19th of the season. Eight Detroit regulars, including captain Steve Yzerman, are out with injuries. Despite the injuries, Steve Ovadia loves the reunited line of Datsyuk, Brett Hull and Henrik Zetterburg.

A Stephen Weiss power play goal in the middle of the third period helped the Florida Panthers earn a 2-2 tie with the Washington Capitals. Rookie goaltender Maxime Ouellet, making his second straight start for the Capitals, had 20 saves for Washington. The Capitals are now 2-1-1 under new head coach Glen Hanlon. The game was the first this season the Caps played without Jaromir Jagr, who will miss a week with a thumb injury he suffered Tuesday night in Atlanta.

Dwayne Roloson had 37 saves in Minnesota's 3-2 win over the Avalanche in Denver. The win was the Wild's first ever at the Pepsi Center. Joe Sakic had two goals for Colorado. The Wild have won three straight, and are now 5-2-2 in their last nine games. The Stars, who had only scored five goals in their last seven games before last night, got three in a 3-1 win over Vancouver. The Stars are 2-5-1 in their last eight, and are now last in the Pacific Division. Some on the Stars are tasting some sour grapes, and Tom Benjamin isn't having any of it.

The Islanders visit Madison Square Garden tonight for the first time this season, and that's got the Hockey Rodent playing around with some higher math. He finds the results pretty troubling. Meanwhile, Larry Brooks says the Rangers have scouted Red Wings goalie Curtis Joseph, and are thinking about doing a deal. All Things Canadian is has some thoughts about the new WHA.

Following up on the discussion on the dismissal of Paul Maurice in Carolina, SI.com's Stephen Canella thinks new coach Peter Laviolette is going to have a hard time reviving the team. In the Boston Globe, Kevin Paul Dupont says Bruins center Joe Thornton needs to pick up his game.

And in Philadelphia, Mike Comrie is talking about his holdout with the Oilers, and in particular his dispute with Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe:

Mike Comrie could have paid his way out of Edmonton and gone to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

All he had to do was fork over $2.5 million from his own pocket to Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe.

"It was a bit unethical," Comrie said last week of Lowe's condition for the trade.

Now, some might question the sanity of Lowe's move. Lord knows I do. But unethical? With multi-million dollar salaries the norm in professional sports these days, I don't think it was unethical at all. Lowe thought he had Comrie over a barrell, and he tried to leverage it. He failed.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2003 at 2:41 pm by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Oilers celebrated the end of the Mike Comrie era in Edmonton by dropping a 4-2 decision to the Kings in Los Angeles. Joe Corvo got the game winning goal in the third, and Cristobal Huet had 22 saves in the win. Noah Clarke, the first Los Angeles native to play for the Kings since the franchise was founded in 1967, had an assist. Thanks to Celsius 1414 for the tip.

Two words -- gold helmets.

Brendan Morrison ended the Canucks' fifth straight OT game with the game winning goal 1:19 into the extra period to defeat the Predators, 2-1. Dan Cloutier had 29 saves for Vancouver, who are unbeaten in their last five (3-0-2). Back in Vancouver, backup goalie Johan Hedburg discovered he had a broken hand that will need another 10 days to heal. He's already been on the shelf since December 9th.

In St. Louis, Keith Tkachuk got an OT game winning goal, to pace the Blues to a 2-1 win over the Blue Jackets. Chris Osgood had 26 saves for the Blues, as St. Louis is now unbeaten in December (6-0-1-0), and only one point behind Detroit for the Central Division lead. Columbus remains winless on the road this season.

In a sad footnote, the Blue Jackets bought out the contract of center Espen Knutsen. Back in March 2002, a shot of Knutsen's stick deflected into the crowd at the Nationwide Center in Columbus, striking 13-year old Brittanie Cecil. The injury she suffered that night killed her two days later, and led the league to install protective netting in every arena.

With questions being asked about presumptive starting goalie Olie Kolzig, minor league callup Maxime Ouellet stopped 37 shots in his NHL debut to earn a shutout win for the Capitals over the Thrashers, 5-0. Ouellet was particularly outstanding in the second period, where he stopped 24 Atlanta shots. Last night's game marked the second time this season that a rookie won a game with the Caps in their Washington debut, the first coming a few weeks ago for Rastislav Stana.

Here's some bad news for Kolzig:

"He had a lot of composure," said [Caps head coach Glen] Hanlon, who's undecided about whether to start Ouellet or Olaf Kolzig on Wednesday night. " I never saw him panic."

Does anybody remember Jim Carey? Ace? The Net Detective? Here's the last trace I found.

In Pittsburgh, a third period goal from Konstantin Koltsov gave the Penguins a 2-1 win over Buffalo. Sabres captain Chris Drury will miss 7-10 days with a separated shoulder. In Montreal, the Canadiens and the Bruins tied, 1-1.

Ed Belfour had 21 saves as the Maple Leafs completed their torrid run to the top of the NHL standings with a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs are now tied with the Flyers for tops in the league with 44 points.

And speaking of the Flyers, they lost at home for just the second time this season, losing 3-2 in OT to the Flames. Dean McAmmond had the game winner, and Miikka Kiprusoff had 35 saves for Calgary. Despite the great run the Flames find themselves on, George Johnson says it's too early to get excited.

And finally, on Long Island, Alexi Yashin earned his salary, if only for a night, scoring the game winning goal in the Islanders' 5-4 win over the Devils. Rookie Trent Hunter, who leads the Islanders in goals, scored his 12th of the season. Some Devils contended that the Islanders' Jason Blake was offside on the play where he scored a shorthanded goal in the third period, and they were right. Replays clearly showed Blake was at least a step and a half into the zone ahead of the puck and Oleg Kvasha, who fed a pass to Blake to set up the goal.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2003 at 4:39 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Pavel Datsyuk got his 18th goal, and Curtis Joseph stopped 18 shots in Detroit's 4-1 win over Florida at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit has won four of its last five games, and is 8-1-1-1 in its last 11.

In Phoenix, the Coyotes said goodbye to America West Arena with a 5-2 loss to Minnesota. Andrew Brunette had a goal and two assists, and Dwayne Roloson stopped 18 shots for the Wild. The Coyotes don't play at home again until December 27th, when they face the Nashville Predators at the brand new Glendale Arena.

In some sad off-ice news, former Blackhawks captain Keith Magnuson was killed in a car accident near Toronto. He was travelling back to Toronto from a funeral with former Maple Leafs captain Rob Ramage, who was also injured in the crash. Magnuson played ten seasons in Chicago (1969-79), and was named to the franchise's 75th anniversary team. Steve Ovadia remembers a hockey throwback.

Dany Heatley's planned return to the ice has been postponed. In Pittsburgh, Mario Lemieux's hip isn't getting any better, and the long-term prognosis isn't encouraging. Apparently, Lemieux is having difficulty with everyday tasks like getting in and out of his car. Meanwhile, Mike Comrie remains in limbo.

In Vancouver, the Canucks have recalled Fedor Fedorov, and Tom Benjamin thinks it's a bad sign for the Sedin twins.

The Columbus Stars of the United Hockey League have offered comedian Dennis Leary a one-game contract to play with the team. Part of the proceeds from that home game would be donated to a charity Leary runs for firefighters. Hard to see how Leary, a confirmed Boston Bruins fan, could manage to turn this down.

At ESPN.com, they've posted the latest from John Buccigross.

Over at Vancouver Canucks OpEd, the editorial board is defending deposed Carolina head coach Paul Maurice:

Worth Remembering: The Canes have taken 934 shots at the opposition goalies so far this year; the Vancouver Canucks have fired just 884 pucks, and the Devils have been happy with 815 shots.

It is the Minnesota Wild, with only 712 shots, that most definitely has earned their coach a trip to hockey-oblivion this week. Yet Lemaire still has a job - now that's the real story, in our opinion.

Maybe Paul Maurice's hockey deserved to get him fired... but how can anyone argue that the Hurricane's brand on the game is worse than Lemaire's insidious "risk nothing" defense?

Unfortunately, it's wins and losses that coaches get judged on. And when it comes to Maurice, who at the time he was fired was the head coach in the NHL with the longest current tenure, he got a lot more time than most. If anything, it's Maurice who owes a lot to the Whalers/Hurricanes organization for giving him a shot to coach at such a young age, and for sticking with him through a number of lean years before a cream puff schedule in the Southeast Division helped the team to a pair of division titles.

Don't worry about Paul Maurice, he'll get another job, and probably with a team that puts more talent on the ice, sooner rather than later. Know one thing, though: whatever job he gets, he won't last anywhere near as long as the eight seasons he got in Hartford/Carolina.

UPDATE: Bad news on the Magnuson accident: Ramage has been charged by police in connection with the accident. ESPN's Darren Pang remembers Magnuson.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The Oilers have traded holdout center Mike Comrie to the Flyers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 16th, 2003 at 7:08 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Playing with a verge and intensity not seen around these parts for a while, the Washington Capitals won their first game under new head coach Glen Hanlon, 6-5 over the Boston Bruins. Though it looked as if things hadn't changed after Mike Knuble gave Boston an early 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal, the Caps scored three first period goals to chase Bruins goalie Felix Potvin, and never relinquished the lead.

I wonder if Hanlon knows how this quote from the Washington Post sounds right now:

"It was a fun night," said Hanlon, a former assistant coach who replaced Bruce Cassidy Wednesday. "It's been a long time, about 15 months, since I was behind the bench and the players were sharp."

Hanlon looks like he belongs -- at least for one night.

Hope ex-coach Bruce Cassidy isn't reading the paper this morning. Then again, maybe he is, and Hanlon doesn't care. Other notes: the team's new checking line consists of Jeff Halpern, Mike Grier and Matt Pettinger. Dainius Zubrus played a huge role, shutting down Boston's Joe Thornton, and getting a goal on a penalty shot, while Hanlon singled out Peter Bondra for praise for his defensive play -- something which he said is going to set the tone for the team's revival.

But don't get too excited, Caps fans. Here's a dose of reality from Dave Fay of the Washington Times:

The victory illustrated almost every hole in the Caps' system this season. Their collapse dropped the team 10 games below break-even for the first time since the team's expansion dark ages. The Caps were outplayed, outshot and outhustled as Boston dominated everything but the scoreboard and nearly took control there, too, with two goals in the final 62 seconds.

In Minnesota, the Maple Leafs got back to their winning ways with a 1-0 victory over the Wild. Ed Belfour had 28 saves, and Tom Fitzgerald scored the game's only goal as Toronto won its sixth straight game on the road. Back in Ontario, Marian Hossa scored for the first time since November 20th, helping the Senators to a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay. The Lightning, who are 2-6-2 in their last ten games, have played five games in the last eight nights.

The Detroit Red Wings patchwork roster, so brilliant in a win over Buffalo on Wednesday, couldn't keep it up, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Blackhawks in Chicago in OT. Chicago's Mark Bell got the game winner only 15 seconds into the extra period.

Just a reminder to readers: every time I read about an OT game, I remember how much I hate, hate, hate, the regulation tie. Regulation tie delenda est!

Cristobal Huet replaced an injured Roman Cechmanek in the Kings' 4-1 on the road against Nashville. Huet stopped 29 of 30 shots. Ziggy Palffy had two goals for Los Angeles. In Calgary, Shean Donovan's goal was all Flames goalie Miikkaa Kiprusoff needed in Calgary's 1-0 win over punchless Carolina.

Repeat after me: Ed Jovanovski, Norris Trophy Candidate. What other conclusion can you draw after his end-to-end rush in the third period gave the Canucks a 1-1 tie with the hated Colorado Avalanche? David Aebischer had 37 saves for the Avalanche, 19 in third period alone. ESPN.com's Terry Frei profiles Brian Burke, the Yankee who put together the Canucks. And is it any surprise that Burke is a product of Lou Lamoriello's program at Providence?

In the other West Coast final, San Jose and Edmonton tied 2-2. No word yet on whether or not the Oilers are counting on Mike Comrie to supply the cash needed for the charter back home to Edmonton.

Off the ice, Atlanta Thrasher Dany Heatley, injured severely in a car accident that killed his teammate, Dan Snyder, before the start of the season, will begin skating again in two weeks.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 12th, 2003 at 1:56 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

In Vancouver, it was all about Markus Naslund, as the talented winger scored all four Canucks goals in a 4-3 OT win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Maybe now is a good time to sing the praises of Canucks GM Brian Burke, a man who managed to acquire Naslund and his linemates, Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi, at firesale prices, thereby guaranteeing the future of the franchise for years to come.

On another note, an injury to goalie Dan Cloutier made things a little problematic for the Canucks before the game:

With Cloutier unable to back up, and their minor league teams unable to provide a goalie in time, the Canucks dressed Canadian university goalie Chris Levesque as a backup. For a while it looked as through Levesque, a 23-year-old goalie from the University of British Columbia, might also have to play.

[Johan] Hedberg had his mask knocked off in a hard collision with Konstantin Koltsov while diving for a loose puck late in the first period and was down on the ice for several minutes while Levesque looked on from the bench.

"A little bit of fear, a little bit scared, trying to play it calm on the bench," Levesque said of his thoughts at the time. "Luckily, he wasn't hurt seriously.

Further East in Edmonton, Marty Murray scored two goals to help the Hurricanes beat the Oilers, 3-2. The victory snapped a three-game winless streak for the Hurricanes. Kevin Weekes had 25 saves for Carolina. And no, Mike Comrie, heir to a massive fortune in the furniture business, is still holding out. Apparently, the Ducks are interested.

Manny Fernandez had 31 saves in the Wild's 2-1 win over Calgary. Over the last 12 games, Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson have combined to post a 1.81 goals against average. Andrei Zyuzin had a goal and an assist for the punchless Wild.

In Toronto, the Leafs couldn't chase the Blues away.

In TO, the Blues snapped the Maple Leafs' eight game winning streak with a 3-2 OT win. Norris Trophy candidate Chris Pronger got the game winning goal only 30 seconds into the extra period. Toronto's Joe Nieuwendyk, who has played like a 22-year old version of himeself during the Toronto win streak, tied the game on a shorthanded goal with only 17 seconds left in regulation.

And on Long Island, the Islanders shook off a 2-0 second period deficit to defeat Tampa Bay, 5-2. The Islanders comeback was keyed by head coach Steve Stirling's decision to bench Arron Asham after a turnover by the winger led directly to a Ruslan Fedotenko goal that game Tampa their 2-0 advantage. With Asham on the bench, Stirling replaced him with rookie Trent Hunter, who immediately clicked with Michael Peca and Shawn Bates.

As Alan Hahn in Newsday wrote:

On their very first shift, it produced a goal when Hunter buried his own rebound at 15:34 to cut the lead in half.

On their next shift, Hunter tipped the puck to Bates for a one-timer from the left circle to tie it at 2 at 18:20. Peca assisted on both goals.

"It was just bouncing around and I took a swipe at it," Hunter said of the second goal. "Fortunately it went to Bates."

They hooked up again for the game-winner early in the third. Hunter dug the puck out along the wall from Tampa's Pavel Kubina and Brad Richards and fed Bates, who hit defenseman Radek Martinek crashing back-door. Martinek beat Nikolai Khabibulin at 3:19 to put the Islanders ahead 3-2.

In off-ice news, the Red Wings are beginning to look like an Army MASH unit, as ten of the regulars in their lineup with miss Thursday's game against the Kings. Steve Yzerman (groin), Henrik Zetterberg (leg fracture), wingers Tomas Holmstrom (shoulder) and Ray Whitney(groin), defenseman Chris Chelios (sprained knee), Darren McCarty (back), Derian Hatcher (torn ACL) and Steve Thomas (knee) have all been placed on injured reserve. Further, goalies Manny Legace and Dominik Hasek are both hurt, meaning the Wings will have to recall Curtis Joseph from minor league Grand Rapids.

Nashville, playing better than at any time in franchise history, may send hard-hitting rookie Jordin Tootoo to the minors so he can get more ice time. Tootoo has been a healthy scratch in four of the last six games for Nashville.

And with all the trouble over Columbus forward Nikolai Zherdev's arrival in the NHL, it's sort of made me pine for the good old days of the Cold War, when East Bloc hockey players would simply defect during a tournament in Europe or North America, hook up with an agent, and wind up in the league with little fuss. Instead, today we have gangsters running Russian ice hockey, individuals who manipulate international rules in order to line their own pockets at the expense of the players they essentially hold hostage.

Here's a chance for Gary Bettman and the folks who run the league to show some backbone that their counterparts in the NBA failed to when the Houston Rockets drafted Yao Ming. Tell the gangsters who run Russian ice hockey to stuff it. Zherdev is in North America to stay.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 10th, 2003 at 7:34 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

When Brett Hull scored the OT game winning goal against the Los Angeles Kings last night in Detroit (a 3-2 win), he stepped into the history books. With the 732nd goal of his career, Hull broke a tie on the career list with Marcel Dionne, and now stands behind only Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) on the NHL's all-time list.

Number 3 never felt so good.

Brendan Shanahan also scored for Detroit, and that goal moved him into a tie for 19th place all-time with Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

In Boston, Wade Redden scored a goal with 3:39 remaining in the second period* to lift Ottawa to a 2-2 tie with the Bruins. The Bruins are now winless in their last 12 games against the Senators, dating back to November 9, 2002. Up in Montreal, the Flyers got three goals in the third period, including the game winner from John LeClair with only 1:13 remaining, to defeat the Canadiens, 3-2.

In Denver, it was former Washington Capital Andrei Nikolishin who scored to put the game away, helping the Avalanche to a 4-1 win over the Capitals. Rob Blake, Teemu Selanne, and Alex Tanguay also scored for Colorado, and Joe Sakic had three assists. Earlier this season, the teams swapped forwards, with Colorado obtaining Steve Konowalchuck in exchange for younger and cheaper Bates Battaglia.

Since the trade, Konowalchuck has eight goals and three assists in 22 games for the Avalanche. Meanwhile, Battaglia has no points, and is -10 through 17 games with the Capitals. Said Nikolishin (who once starred in a commercial with Konowlachuck while they were both with the Caps) to the Washington Post:

"It's been by far the biggest pickup for us. Kono has been amazing for us. Everybody in the league wanted him and we got him, so a lot of teams are jealous right now."

Every team in the league wanted him? And all they got in return was a younger and cheaper winger who can't get out of his own way? Caps GM George McPhee has to answer for this. Now in his seventh season as General Manager, McPhee has taken the Caps from the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals and turned them into the worst team in all of the NHL.

No doubt, he's been somewhat handcuffed by the burdensome contract of Jaromir Jagr -- a deal he told his owner Ted Leonsis not to make. But at the same time, not one of his draft picks in seven seasons has developed into a top flight everyday player -- leaving the team horribly exposed as veterans move on or retire. When head coach Bruce Cassidy is shown the door, McPhee ought to go with him.

POSTSCRIPT: Along with Battaglia, the Caps did obtain the rights to Jonas Johansson, a right wing currently playing with the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL. In 29 games so far this season, Johansson has nine goals and nine assists, and is plus 10. Last January, Hockey's Future ranked the Caps as the third best organization in the league on the strength of their minor league system, but we sure haven't seen any sort of impact yet on the big club.

*CORRECTION: Thanks to reader Jason of Spinning Plates for pointing out the error in the Ottawa-Boston score. Ultimately, I'm responsible for getting the information right on these pages, but over the past few weeks I've noticed a disturbing trend in the ESPN.com re-writes of AP wire copy. I know the folks who run the copy desk at ESPN.com are really busy, but all sorts of minor errors are cropping up in headlines and summaries of NHL games -- something that's making my job a little harder. Over the next few days, I might start relying on summaries from NHL.com instead.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 9th, 2003 at 7:24 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Brian Leetch had two goals, and the New York Rangers withstood a third period charge from the Islanders to win 4-2 on Long Island. Mike Dunham had 37 saves for the Rangers, who managed only 16 shots on the Islanders' Rick DiPietro. The key play came in the second period, when Michael Peca was ejected after laying a brutal hit on the Rangers' Jamie Lundmark:

"What Peca did to Lundmark is not called for," said Sather, the Rangers' coach and GM. "There's a kid who just started to make his career in the NHL, and Peca knees and puts him out.

"We'll find out [Friday], but he has a ligament problem for sure."

Peca didn't think the penalty was justified.

"I know on the play I didn't stick my leg out," Peca said. "He was planted on his skates. I just tried to finish my check."

On the replay, the hit looked clean, as Peca never left his skates. Unfortunately, it was a leg on leg hit, one that Lundmark got the worst of. Earlier in the game, Peca tried to bulldoze Rangers center Bobby Holik, but wound up taking the worst of the hit himself as he was sent sprawling to the ice. Peca isn't exactly a stranger to rough play, and at times has been the victim of cheap shots himself.

With the Rangers win, the all time series between the teams is tied at 84-84-19.

In Boston, the Maple Leafs laid a terrible beating on the Bruins, 6-0. Joe Nieuwendyk and Darcy Tucker had two goals each, and Ed Belfour had 25 saves to grab his second shutout of the season.

Tie f****** Domi scored for Toronto.

In Buffalo, the Coyotes got a goal from Branko Radivojevic with less than 4 minutes remaining to beat the Sabres 3-2. Brian Boucher had 34 saves for Phoenix.

Jason Spezza scored twice in Ottawa's 4-1 win over Tampa Bay. The Lightning are now winless in their last six games. Deep in the heart of Ohio, Nikolai Zherdev got his first NHL goal, but it wasn't enough as Nashville went on to beat Columbus, 4-2. The Predators have won a franchise-record sixth straight, and ten of their last 12.

Martin Brodeur got the 69th shutout of his career, as New Jersey beat Washington, 3-0. The Capitals, who have just 18 points in 26 games this season, could only manage to get nine shots against New Jersey. Said the Caps' Peter Bondra:

"We turned the puck over and played right into their hands," Bondra said. "That's pretty much the whole story and that's why we got slapped in the face."

On the road in St. Louis, the Red Wings scored four times in the third period to earn a 4-4 tie with the Blues. Dominik Hasek was positively lackluster in his return from a groin injury, only managing to stop 14 of 18 St. Louis shots. Chris Pronger had two goals and an assist for St. Louis, who got some good off-ice news as defenseman Al MacInnis began some preliminary workouts in preparation for a possible return from eye surgery.

Jarome Iginla had two goal for Calgary in a 4-1 win over Vancouver. Martin Straka got his first goal in an LA Kings uniform as they beat the Dallas Stars, 3-0. Roman Cechmanek got the shutout for the Kings, as Dallas continues to struggle on defense. And in San Jose, the Sharks blew an early 2-0 lead, and had to settle for a 2-2 tie with Colorado.

Off the ice, the Edmonton Oilers jersey that Wayne Gretzky wore in the Heritage Classic last month fetched $26,000 in a charity auction. In Philadelphia, it was announced that veteran center Claude Lapointe has entered the league's substance abuse program for an unspecified addiction. Lapointe signed a two-year contract with the Flyers before this season, after coming over from the Islanders in a trade at last Spring's deadline. Good luck to him and his family.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2003 at 8:40 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Nashville Predators extended their current winning streak to five games with a 2-1 OT win over the struggling Carolina Hurricanes. Tomas Vokoun stopped 40 of 41 Carolina shots, until Scott Hartnell got the game winning goal 3:30 in OT. The Predators have now won nine of their last 11 games. Note to Washington Capitals fans: this team was put together by former Washington general manager, David Poile.

The Philadelphia Flyers shrugged off the end of their month-long unbeaten streak, and got back to work with a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jeremy Roenick and Mark Recchi had goals, and Jeff Hackett had 30 saves in the win. Ramzi Abid had his second goal in two games for Pittsburgh.

In Sergei Fedorov's first trip back to Detroit since signing a huge free agent contract with the Mighty Ducks, Red Wings fans made sure to boo the former Detroit star every time he touched the puck -- only partially silencing them when he scored in the second period. But the Wings made sure everyone from Anaheim got a rude reception on the ice, as they crushed the Ducks 7-2. Ducks goalie J.S. Giguere gave up four Wings goals before being pulled in favor of Martin Gerber. Manny Legace, who gave Dominik Hasek one more night off before returning to the lineup, had 21 saves.

Man mountain Zdeno Chara had a goal and two assists to lead Ottawa to an easy 4-0 win over Florida. Martin Prusek had 30 saves for Ottawa as Florida's winless streak reached four games (0-2-2). In Atlanta, 10 different players scored in Boston's 6-4 victory over the Thrashers. Amazingly, not one of them was named Ilya Kovalchuck.

In Chicago, the Blackhawks woes continued as they lost to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. The Blackhawks losing streak is now at seven games, and the team hasn't won since November 7 in Nashville (0-8-1-3). Mika Noronen had 22 saves for Buffalo.

Finally, in Edmonton, the Wild edged the Oilers 1-0 on a first period goal by Marian Gaborik. With the loss, the Oilers' winless streak reached six games. Manny Fernandez stopped 34 shots and got his first shutout of the season for the Wild.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2003 at 7:01 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

In their last 14 trips to Long Island before last night, the Washington Capitals had more than made themselves at home, posting a 12-1-1 record against the Islanders in that span. On Tuesday, the Capitals continued their rude ways, scoring three goals in the first period on their way to a 4-1 victory. The loss was the sixth straight for the Islanders, a team that has simply stopped listening to its coach and general manager ever since news leaked that the team intended to waive veteran forward Jason Wiemer. Who's the author of this mess? Why, it's Isles GM Mike Milbury, who can't dodge responsibility any longer.

Memo to GM Milbury: the Rangers arrive Thursday night. Win, or start wondering about your job.

Jose Theodore got his 100th win in goal for the Canadiens, as Montreal defeated Tampa Bay 3-2. Theodore had 25 saves in the win, thanks to goals from Jan Bulis, Richard Zednik and Saku Koivu. After a hot start powered in part by a favorable schedule, Tampa Bay is now winless in it's last five games (0-3-2).

The Phoenix Coyotes scored two third period goals -- one scored by and another assisted on by defenseman David Tanabe -- to beat the Devils 3-1. With the loss, the Devils are now winless in their last four. Sean Burke had 27 saves for the Coyotes, including 14 in the first period.

19 year old Nikolai Zherdev made his NHL debut in Columbus for the Blue Jackets, but it was the team's other teenager, second-year player Rick Nash, whose goal was the difference in a 2-1 victory over the Mighty Ducks. Marc Denis had 30 saves, but had his shutout bid spoiled by Vinny Prospal with 31 seconds left when the Ducks lifted goalie Martin Gerber for an extra attacker.

Owen Nolan scored with 10 seconds left in the second period to give the Maple Leafs a lead they would never relinquish in a 5-4 win over the Rangers at the Air Canada Centre. With the win, the Leafs swept both ends of a home and home series with the Rangers, and have been victorious in six straight games. Anson Carter, recently the object of head coach/GM Glen Sather's ire in the New York papers, had a goal, but couldn't put the puck into an open net with less than a minute left to play.

In Calgary, the Flames' Shean Donovan scored on a penalty shot en route to a 3-1 win over the Sharks, snapping San Jose's five-game win streak. In St. Louis, Dallas Drake had two goals in the Blues' 4-1 win over Los Angeles. Chris Osgood had 27 saves for St. Louis. Newly-acquired Martin Straka played 20 shifts for the Kings, but didn't score.

Dallas Drake puts it past Roman Cechmanek

From the training room comes news that Blackhawks winger Eric Daze needs back surgery, and will be out of the lineup for 10 weeks. Heading in the other direction, Dominik Hasek says he's healed from his groin injury, and will be ready to play against Anaheim in Detroit tomorrow night.

In Pittsburgh, they're still hemming and hawing over whether or not to send Marc-Andre Fleury back to his junior team in order to save the team some cash. Fleury has offered to forgo a portion of his performance bonuses if the team lets him stay -- something not heard of all that often.

In a four-player deal, Tomas Kloucek was the biggest name moved in a trade between the Thrashers and the Predators, with the former Ranger going from Nashville to Atlanta in a deal involving a group of solid underachievers. In other Thrashers news, Ilya Kovalchuck is the early leader in balloting for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team.

Finally, TSN is reporting that the Oilers may now be willing to package another veteran player along with holdout center Mike Comrie, if that's what it takes to get a deal done. No word if they're willing to throw in any furniture as of yet.

UPDATE: Mariusz Czerkawski, who was a healthy scratch last night on Long Island, was actually held out of the game due to an irregular heartbeat. The winger, held without a goal in his last six games, complained after practice yesterday that he didn't feel well, which is when team doctors detected the irregularity.

Meanwhile, Newsday is also reporting that Islanders fans have turned on team captain Michael Peca:

That old familiar chant of "Mike Must Go!" echoed throughout Nassau Coliseum last night, as the tailspinning Islanders were en route to their sixth consecutive loss. But the target this time was somewhat uncertain.

In past seasons it has been the serenade for general manager Mike Milbury, who last night stormed away from his seat in the GM's box as the Washington Capitals built a 3-0 lead in what became a 4-1 victory over the Islanders. But those among the crowd of 10,851 booed captain Michael Peca heavily, especially during an ill-timed feature about him on the center-ice scoreboard.

"Fans do what they do," Peca said afterward. "No one is harder on Michael Peca than Michael Peca."

A number of Peca's teammates defended him in the dressing room after the game, including iron man defenseman Adiran Aucoin. As I said above, the problem in Long Island is in the front office, where after eight years, Mike Milbury has run out of plausible excuses.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2003 at 12:43 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Philadelphia Flyers were riding a 12-game winning streak. The Ottawa Senators were on the ropes. And it was the Senators who bounced back last night with a 4-1 win over the Flyers. Ottawa took control on two Martin Havlat goals in the second period and never looked back. Martin Prusek got 31 saves and the win for Ottawa.

Life is not very enjoyable for the Pittsburgh Penguins these days. One of the few stars remaining on the team, Martin Straka, was shipped to LA in a salary dump over the weekend. Rico Fata, an energetic presence on a team in desperate need of one, went on the injured list yesterday. And player-owner Mario Lemieux may never return from his latest hip injury.

But that didn't matter last night, as the Penguins revived long enough to beat the Thrashers, 4-3. Ramzi Abid scored the winning goal with 3:43 left in the third period for the Penguins. Only 9,576 fans showed up on a night when it was announced that Mario Lemieux turned down a $5 million raise. Attendance at Penguins games is down about 3,000 per game this season, and last night's crowd was the lowest since a December 1995 game against Calgary.

In his Sunday Slapshots column, the New York Post's Larry Brooks took a cheap shot at the Washington Capitals play-by-play team of Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin:

Now I've got it. The Washington TV announcers who shill for the home team and never sound so good as when the mute control is activated, well, don't you know that they spoke to Jaromir Jagr, so they've got the real story. Right.

Of course, the broadcast team works at the pleasure of Capitals owner Ted Leonsis -- and are essentially employees of the franchise. Not quite unlike Brooks was when he once worked as a PR guy for the New Jersey Devils. How soon he forgets.

In Columbus, it looks like top 2003 draft pick Nikolai Zherdev will be at practice later this week. But how he's getting there is another thing entirely -- and Canada's TSN has the story. In other Blue Jackets news, the team placed defensemen Rostislav Klesla and Jaroslav Spacek on injured reserve.

The NHL has published team payroll figures.

The Bruins have lost P.J. Axelsson to a shoulder injury.

UPDATE: The NY Daily News says the Jagr to New York deal isn't happening.

OT UPDATE: The latest from ESPN's John Buccigross can be found here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2003 at 12:18 am by Eric McErlain and is filed under Hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.