Off Wing Opinion

With first place in the Eastern Conference on the line, Philly and Ottawa played to a 1-1 tie in scenic Kanata. But the buzz after the game concerned Martin Havlat, who got a match penalty after taking a swing at Philly's Mark Recchi:

"He's a reckless player and someday someone is going to make him eat his lunch," Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He's going to get it someday, and it's going to be harsh."

Havlat was ejected for taking a two-handed swing at Recchi's head in frustration at the Philadelphia forward's dogged stick-checking.

"He's known for it," said Recchi, who had several stitches on his upper left lip. "It might not come from our team, it might come from some other team, but he will because he's cheap and he does stupid stuff like that. He'd better learn to protect himself."

The best game out West took place in Vancouver, as the Canucks tied the Sharks in regulation, setting up Brent Sopel's goal to win in in OT, 3-2. Sopel had two goals and an assist, scoring the winning goal when San Jose's Vesa Toskala couldn't prevent a rebound off a low shot into his pads by Markus Naslund.

Everyone likes to malign the Southeast Division, and say that the Tampa Bay Lightning benefit greatly by playing in the NHL's worst division. And after beating Toronto 4-3 in Tampa last night (and matching Toronto's season-long point total), one has to wonder what Tampa will have to do to get some respect. Brad Richards had two goals for the Bolts.

In Boston, Montreal's Craig Rivet scored in OT to ice a 3-2 win for the Habs. Montreal remains in seventh place in the East, three points ahead of the Islanders, who lost again to the Rangers, 6-3.

The win marked a successful debut for Rangers interim head coach Tom Renney, as the Rangers swept the six-game season series with the Islanders. Jaromir Jagr and Chris Simon both scored twice for the Blueshirts, but plenty of credit has to go to Rangers defenseman Dale Purinton, who kept his cool when Eric Cairns of the Islanders challenged him to a fight in the first period with the Rangers already up 2-0. The result: a seven minute Rangers power play that resulted in a goal, and salted it away for the Manhattanites.

Back out West, St. Louis and Colorado tied 2-2 in Mike Kitchen's debut as Blues head coach. St. Louis had been down 2-0, but got second period goals from Dallas Drake and Keith Tkachuk to force the tie. Meanwhile in Calgary, Western Division leading Detroit won 2-1 in Calgary. And finally, in Nashville, the Predators got another goal from Steve Sullivan en route to a 4-0 win over Minnesota.

With teams looking to obtain a rugged defenseman, the Ducks announced they won't be parting with veteran Keith Carney.

With CBA Armageddon still looming, another team announced it would lose money this year -- this time it's the Buffalo Sabres, who are projecting a $10 million loss even if the team makes the playoffs. And in Dallas, Stars owner Tom Hicks revealed that he asked Mike Modano and Bill Guerin to defer some compensation in order to keep former Stars defenseman Derian Hatcher in Dallas this past offseason

This entry was posted on Friday, February 27th, 2004 at 7:25 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.

Pittsburgh's long national nightmare is over. Rick Bowness' has probably just begun.

Ric Jackman scored with 3:12 remaining in overtime, as Pittsburgh snapped its 18-game winless streak with a 4-3 win over the Coyotes in Phoenix. It was an inauspicious debut for interim Coyotes head coach Rick Bowness, who was given the job on Tuesday night when the team fired Bobby Francis. It was the first win for Pittsburgh since January 12th in Philadelphia.

With a chance to climb to the top of the Eastern Conference standings, Toronto bonked once more, getting shutout 4-0 by Robert Luongo and las Panteras de Florida. Luongo had 33 saves, and Juraj Kolnik scored twice for Florida.

Patrick Elias had two goals and three assists in New Jersey's 8-2 demolition of Buffalo. While Jamie Langenbrunner was powering the New Jersey offense early in the season, Elias and his linemates, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta have been unstoppable as of late. With the win, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur became the first goalie in NHL history to win 30 games in nine straight seasons.

In a Southeast Division showdown, Tampa Bay beat Atlanta, 4-2. Vincent Lecavalier got the tie-breaking goal in the third period to salt it away for the Lightning. It was Tampa Bay's first win at the Philips Arena in eight tries. On the other end of the division, Carolina edged Washington 2-1. Jeff O'Neill got the game winner on a two-man advantage midway through the second period, as the Caps only managed 5 shots in the game's first 28 minutes. Arturs Irbe, who had spent most of the season in the minors, got the win for Carolina.

In Dallas, the Kings and Stars tied 1-1, but the real news concerned Stars center Mike Modano, who left the game in the first period with a groin injury. He's listed as day-to-day. Elsewhere out West, Chicago beat Columbus 4-3 and Anaheim tripped up Edmonton, 4-2.

In off-ice news, the Avalanche acquired center Darby Hendrickson from the Minnesota Wild. Hendrickson, who has played most of the season in the minors, gives Colorado some depth behind Andrei Nikolishin.

And in Vancouver, while Marcus Naslund has returned to practice to skate with the Canucks, GM Brian Burke is trying to start to put some pressure on his bosses to get a new deal done:

Brian Burke says he was just stating facts when he called himself a "lame duck general manager" with the Vancouver Canucks.

Burke also said not having a contract in place for next year isn't preventing him from doing his job with the NHL team.

"All I did was address something factually," Burke said Wednesday. "If people don't like that, too bad.

Tom Benjamin thinks Burke is just a "lucky duck".

And tonight in New York, Tom Renney makes his debut as interim head coach of the New York Rangers. He faces the Islanders his first time out, a team the Rangers have beat five times this season.

UPDATE: In the Washington Post, Jason LaCanfora is reporting that activity in and around the Capitals is starting to boil over. Besides the usual suspects, it looks like winger Mike Grier might be available for the right price. Even better, it seems as if the Toronto Maple Leafs are upping their offer for Sergei Gonchar, something that might have some of my readers pretty worried.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2004 at 7:41 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.

Coaches get fired in the NHL all the time, perhaps more often than any other league in professional sports. But it still doesn't happen often enough that seeing two coaches fired in one day doesn't make you sit up and take notice.

Seeing Bobby Francis get the boot in Phoenix isn't terribly surprising. Sure, he was NHL Coach of the Year only two seasons ago, but since when is that good for guaranteeing your job any longer than just one more season? The fact remains that Phoenix, despite moving into a new arena, and boasting a pretty good young lineup, gradually came apart in the immediate aftermath of Brian Boucher's shutout streak. Once it was over, Phoenix's season was essentially over as well. Losing Ladislav Nagy was definitely a blow, but the die had been cast long before then. Expect to see Francis again soon at another NHL franchise near you (barring the little CBA problem that is).

Plenty of folks are saying that Joel Quenneville's firing in St. Louis is horribly unfair, but I'm having trouble seeing what the problem is. Sure, losing Al MacInnis and Barret Jackman hamstrung the Blues defense, but this was still a team that boasted Chris Pronger, Doug Weight, Pavol Demitra and Keith Tkachuk. They won 20 of their first 30 games and were within striking distance of Detroit, and now they might not even make the playoffs.

For a couple of seasons now, fans of the NHL have been waiting to see something spectacular from the Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel. And while I've always thought some of those expectations were a bit unrealistic, Daniel is starting to look like an NHL player to be reckoned with. Last night against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, he scored four goals, including one into an empty net to salt away a 4-2 Vancouver win over the Red Wings.

It was a game that had an authentic playoff feel, and I felt sad when I realized we're still more than a full month away from this year's dance. Chris Chelios left the game in the second period with a bruised shoulder, after a collision with Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi.

We had plenty of playoff atmosphere elsewhere last night, especially in Montreal and on Long Island. At the Molson Center, the Canadiens gutted out another victory, beating Northeast Division-leading Ottawa, 4-2. Michael Ryder had a pair of goals for the Habs. Elsewhere in Montreal, Montreal's team president told the Montreal Board of Trade that the Canadiens were going to have to make the third round of the playoffs this year in order to break even.

As if Bob Gainey's job in Montreal wasn't hard enough already?

Back on Long Island, the Islanders and Bruins tied 0-0, in a game that was delayed for over an hour when the Zamboni shaved the ice inside one of the goal creases too deeply. Despite going ahead with play, the ice was so rough, that Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro clearly had trouble moving laterally more than once during the game.

In Philadelphia, the Flyers vaulted back to the top of the league with a 3-1 win over the (need I say hapless?) Blackhawks. Claude Lapointe scored an empty net goal for Philly, his first since returning from the NHL's substance abuse program. Congratulations, Claude.

And finally, in Colorado, the Flames shutout the Avalanche, 2-0. Colorado is 0-3-1-1 in its last five games at home, scoring only four goals over that stretch. In addition, the Flames acquired forward Ville Nieminen from the Chicago Blackhawks for Jason Morgan and a conditional draft pick. It's good to see Calgary on the market as a buyer, instead of a seller as the season winds down. It's been too long. And in Washington, sources tell the Washington Post that the Caps continue to talk to the Avalanche about acquiring former Vezina winner, Olie Kolzig.

In off-ice news, Eric Lindros has been cleared to begin light workouts as part of his concussion rehab plan. I know Lindros as a mind of his own, but more and more I keep hoping to hear a retirement announcement. In Columbus, the arbitration hearing that will decide whether or not Nikolai Zherdev is a free man or the property of Victor Tikhonov has been set.

All I can say is that if Zherdev loses, I hope the U.S. government plans to give him political asylum. It's clear Vladimir Putin's government is a thoroughly corrupt joke, and that former Soviet hockey czar Tikhonov gets what he wants from him -- including conveniently created induction papers into the Russian Army. Here's hoping the arbitrator sees through their transparent attempt to essentially ransom Zherdev.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2004 at 7:28 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.

With a chance to take the lead in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs whiffed, dropping a 2-1 decision at home to the Carolina Hurricanes. The gentlemanly Ron Francis scored the game winner for Carolina, the 545th goal of his career, as he passed Maurice Richard for 20th place on the league's all-time goal scoring list. Congratulations, Ron.

But the Leafs weren't the only team to bonk against an inferior opponent last night. With a chance to tie Toronto, the Bruins were shutout by Roberto Luongo and Las Panteras, 2-0. Luongo had 38 saves for Florida in the win.

Elsewhere in the East, the Lightning exploded for four third period goals in a 6-3 win over Washington. And up in New York, the Rangers continued to play out the string, dropping a 4-1 decision to Montreal.

With Curtis Joseph hurting, and Manny Legace needing a rest, the Red Wings gave minor league call-up Marc Lamothe his first NHL start in five years, as the Wings and the Oilers tied, 1-1. Lamothe, who has played in the minors for ten seasons, had 29 saves for the Wings.

Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice, including converting on a penalty shot, in San Jose's 4-2 win over Columbus. In LA, Ian Laperriere scored twice in the Kings' 3-0 win over Nashville. with the two points, the Kings moved into sixth place in the West and back into the playoff picture.

And out in the desert paradise that is Glendale, Arizona, the Ducks and the Coyotes played to a 1-1 tie. After the game, the Coyotes waived hockey's Mr. October, Brian Savage, in a cost-cutting move. Savage, who had 12 goals and 12 assists this year, was due to be paid $3.7 million next season, not exactly what you would call a cost effective contract. And with the Coyotes out of the playoff race, this would seem to indicate that no teams were interested in adding Savage to their roster ahead of the playoffs.

If I were a player over 30 on a team out of the playoff race, I'd take this as a pretty ominous sign.

Elsewhere in the league, Ottawa GM John Muckler said he won't be looking for a goalie at the trade deadline. Steve Sullivan of the Predators and Olie Kolzig of the Caps were named NHL Offensive and Defensive players of the week, respectively.

Finally, you can find the latest from ESPN's John Buccigross, here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2004 at 7:30 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.

Just when you think one team might take control of the playoff race in the East, somebody goes into a temporary skid, and another team plays lead dog for a little while. Last night, it was Philly whose skid continued, as they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Bruins at the Wachovia Center. The teams combined for four goals in the first period, and the whole evening had a feel of a late-season game from the 70s. It was the third straight loss for the Flyers, who now share first in the East with Toronto after their 2-1 OT win over Carolina. The pesky Darcy Tucker got the game winner.

Up in Kanata, Peter Bondra scored in his first game with the Senators, but it wasn't enough, as they lost to the Thrashers in OT, 3-2. Shawn McEachern scored a power play goal in OT to clinch the win for Atlanta, who are beginning to show signs of life, albeit too late for it to matter.

At the end of the evening, Philly and Toronto were tied atop the East with 78 points, while Ottawa and Boston were tied for fourth with 77. Tampa Bay, who lost 4-3 in OT to St. Louis, is now at 73 points, but has two or three games in hand over just about every team they trail in the East.

Still reeling from injuries that have left them depleted at center, the Flyers acquired Alexi Zhamnov from the Blackhawks along with a fourth round draft pick, in exchange for defenseman Jim Vandermeer, center Colin Fraser, and a seccond round pick in 2004.

At the lower end of the food chain in the East, Montreal snapped their four-game losing streak, beating Calgary 4-1. That win helped the Habs move into a seventh-place tie with the Islanders, who lost their fifth straight to the Rangers this season, 6-2. And in their first game without Peter Bondra, the Caps beat New Jersey 3-1. Olie Kolzig, believed by most observers to be the next high-salaried player shipped out of D.C., had 43 saves for the Caps.

Out West, Marco Sturm had a goal and two assists as San Jose beat Chicago, 6-3. And in St. Paul, the Wild blitzed the Canucks, 6-2. Marc Chouinard scored twice for the home team, and Antti Laaksonen scored on a penalty shot while the Wild were shorthanded.

In injury news, Flyers goalie Robert Esche may return next week, after recovering from a knee injury, while Ladislav Nagy is facing season-ending surgery in Phoenix. And in a surprise for me, Eric Lindros told the New York Times he's feeling better, and wants to return to the ice soon.

UPDATE: Victor at Publius was at MCI Center last night, and the mood wasn't good.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 20th, 2004 at 7:35 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.

We have a tie at the top of the Western Conference, and for that we can thank the Edmonton Oilers. Last night in Denver, Edmonton awoke from a season-long coma to rout the Colorado Avalanche 5-1. Ryan Smith had a goal and two assists, and Tommy Salo got the win in goal, though he only had to face 15 Colorado shots.

Back in Hockeytown, the Wings beat Phoenix 5-2, as Brett Hull scored the 263rd power play goal of his career, to tie the NHL record held by Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk. Kris Draper continued his surprising season, scoring twice. With the win, Detroit moved into a tie with Colorado for first place in the West, with 78 points.

Elsewhere in the West, Dallas cut into San Jose's lead in the Pacific, getting a 4-3 win over the Kings at home. Mike Modano scored twice. Meanwhile in Nashville, the Sharks got stomped 7-3 by the Predators, as new acquisition Steve Sullivan got a hat trick in his Nashville debut. Kimmo Timonen also scored twice for Nashville. Dallas trails San Jose by six in the Pacific. And there are signs of life in Anaheim, as the Ducks beat Columbus, 3-1.

Back East, the Islanders passed the Canadiens in the standings after a 4-3 win over the Penguins. Marius Czerkawski scored two power play goals for the Islanders. Up in Buffalo, las Panteras temporarily derailed the surging Sabres, forcing them to settle for a 1-1 tie. Roberto Luongo had 41 saves for Florida (back home in Broward County, the financial picture for the team is not so good). After the game, the Islanders sat in seventh with 66 points, Montreal two behind in eighth with 64, and Buffalo in ninth with 61.

To read more about the current travails of the Habs, check out Joe Tasca. To find out why the stretch run will be most brutal in Montreal, read the Rodent. To get an update on some bad news for the family of Jose Theodore, click here.

With five-time All-Star Peter Bondra traded to Ottawa, Washington Caps fans are in a rage -- at least on the team's message boards.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2004 at 7:28 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.

East-leading Philly took a tumble in Tampa Bay, losing their second straight game, 5-2 to the Lightning. Taking advantage, Ottawa crept one point closer and into second place after a 1-1 tie with Washington.

Back in Ontario, Boston jumped all over Toronto goalie Trevor Kidd, downing the Maple Leafs 5-2, and New Jersey tied visiting Minnesota 4-4.

The result: a log jam atop the conference. Philly still leads with 78 points, with Ottawa just two behind with 76. By dint of their Southeast Division lead, Tampa Bay has a hammer lock on the third seed with 72 points, but it's clear they have their sights set higher (ESPN.com's Jim Kelley takes a look at the Lightning). Toronto is in fourth with 76, with Boston one behind in fifth with 75, and New Jersey three further back at 72.

Six points -- that's all that separates first from sixth place in the East.

Elsewhere, Montreal continued its recent struggles, dropping a 4-1 decision to Atlanta. They remain tied with the Islanders in seventh place with 64 points, with the Sabres nipping at their heels.

Think Pat Burns might be losing some sleep the next few weeks, knowing that Lou Lamiriello just hired former Devils head coach Robbie Ftorek to coach the team's top minor league affiliate, the Albany River Rats? It isn't as if the team has a history of making coaching changes in the middle of a playoff race, does it?

UPDATE: Capitals owner Ted Leonsis watched his first game from the owner's box at MCI Center since being suspended for an incident in which he got into an altercation involving a fan.

Not everyone in New York was excited about A-Rod coming to town:

Rick DiPietro has just one loss in his past 10 starts, but the Islanders goalie felt somewhat defeated yesterday when Alex Rodriguez pulled on a Yankees jersey.

"It's definitely a blow to Red Sox Nation," said DiPietro, a Massachusetts native and devout Red Sox fan.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2004 at 12:10 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 Denver, the Canucks ended their three-game losing skid with a 1-0 win over Colorado. Daniel Sedin scored the third period game winner, and Dan Cloutier had 23 saves, but the big news was the hit that Avalanche center Steven Moore laid on Canucks Captain Markus Naslund that left the Swede bloddied and sprawled on the ice. After the game, Cancucks coach Marc Crawford was livid:

"He got a pretty nasty hit," Crawford said. "It could have been an obstruction call, it could have been an elbow, but instead they call absolutely nothing. It mystifies me why this happens in this league. They talk about players not having respect for players. How about the officials? Should they not have respect for the leading scorer in the league?

"It was a cheap shot by a young kid on a captain, and we get no call. That's ridiculous."

I watched the game on Rogers SportsNet, and while the hit was nasty, the call wasn't exactly clear, and could have gone either way. Vancouver has 74 points, and trails Colorado by four for the lead in the Northwest Division and the Western Conference.

Miroslav Satan scored four goals to lead the surging Sabres to a 7-2 rout over Atlanta. Back on Long Island, a third period goal by Aaron Asham gave the Islanders a 1-1 tie with the Kings. At the end of the day, the Islanders had tied Montreal for seventh place in the East with 64 points. Buffalo, who has two more games to play this week before meeting the Islanders Saturday on Long Island, is only four points back in ninth.

At the Mellon Arena, the Maple Leafs doubled up the Penguins 8-4, sending Pittsburgh to their 12th straight home loss, and 14th straight overall. Owen Nolan scored twice for Toronto. At the Compaq Center, the Sharks ended Philly's five-game win streak with a 5-2 victory. Toronto, with 76 points, trails Philly for the top spot in the East by just two points. At Madison Square Garden, the Senators drop-kicked the Rangers 4-1 with a three-goal outburst in the third period. Ottawa sits in fourth place with 75 points, just three off Philly's pace in the East.

In Anaheim, the Stars dropped further behind San Jose, losing a 3-1 decision to the Mighty Ducks. Dallas, with 64 points, trails Pacific-leading San Jose by eight. Back in Detroit, the Red Wings got two points they didn't deserve in a 2-1 win over Edmonton. In the first period, replays clearly showed a puck off the stick of Ales Hemsky crossed the goal line, but the video replay judge inexplicably ruled no goal.

St. Louis dropped Phoenix, 4-2, moving the Blues past Nashville and into seventh place in the Western Conference. Speaking of the Predators, they lost to Columbus, 4-2, in a game where the Blue Jackets' Manny Malhotra scored twice.

And finally, in a game critical to determining who will finish second in the brutal Southeast Division, Carolina beat Florida 3-1. The Hurricanes trail Las Panteras by just five points for second place in the division.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2004 at 7:42 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.

Colorado again has the league's best record after a 4-0 win over St. Louis. David Aebischer, who may just be keeping the starting job warm for Phil Suave (at least until Pierre Lacroix finds somebody willing to hand over a front line player in return), had 29 saves in the shutout win. After the loss, St. Louis is now in ninth place in the West, by dint of the tiebreaker with Nashville. Blues coach Joel Quenneville probably doesn't sleep at night much these days.

Sean Burke's return to the net (26 saves) with the Flyers was a successful one, as a late goal by Sami Kapanen helped Philly edge the Rangers, 2-1. But it was a costly victory for the Flyers, as they lost both Jeremy Roenick (broken jaw) and Keith Primeau (knee) to injuries -- Roenick when he was struck in the cheek by a puck off the stick of Rangers defenseman Boris Mironov. As Roenick got up from the ice, he was cheered by the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

BTW -- the Rodent says the refs should have consulted the video replay judge on the disputed Jagr goal. Captain Off Wing has seen the video, and is in agreement.

In Toronto, the Maple Leafs kept pace with the Eastern leading Flyers, beating Columbus, 4-1. Martin Havlat scored twice for Ottawa, including the game winner in OT as the Senators edged Boston, 3-2. Martin Prusek, who Black, Red, and Gold has been quietly campaigning for to replace Patrick Lalime in net, had 22 saves for Ottawa.

Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis had two goals each, as Tampa Bay rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Montreal, 5-2. Though the Southeast Division takes a lot of shots from around the league (many deserved), Tampa Bay's record would still be good for fifth best in the East if they didn't lead their division. And as we've seen, the Southeast Division champ has as good a chance to make it to the Finals as any other (three of the last eight Eastern Conference champs have been teams that currently occupy the much maligned division).

Teams playing out the string last night included the Caps and Carolina, who tied 3-3. In Florida, Nik Hagman scored twice in Florida's 5-1 win over Pittsburgh, who lost for a franchise record 13th game in a row. New Florida head coach John Torchetti won for the second time behind the bench in as many games since taking over from GM Rick Dudley.

UPDATE: Steve Ovadia takes a look at the NHL's losers. Over at Hockeybird, the bird himself says it's long past time to retire one Madison Square Garden tradition:

Dennis Potvin Doesn't Suck Will you please cut it out !!!!

Really, the people who chant this at MSG are not living in the real world. Dennis won FOUR CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUPS and we are headed into our SEVENTH straight year out of the playoffs. Knock it off already ! If anybody sucks around here....it's us. Well, and that dancing guy.

As an Islanders fan, I can't wait until we win our next Cup, so we can start chanting "1994" whenever the Rangers visit the suburbs.

When you get a chance, stop by Vancouver Canucks Op Ed for a roundup of the NHL week in quotes, a cool little feature. And finally, some people think that Tie Domi isn't so tough anymore. I think they may be right.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2004 at 7:20 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 beat the Sharks, 4-2, but the big news is that only a few hours after Dominik Hasek walked out on the Wings, Curtis Joseph suffered a sprained right ankle that could have him sidelined indefinitely. Joseph was injured when Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo lost his edge, and slid into Joseph from behind, knocking him down. As many might recall, Joseph had bone chips removed from that ankle over the Summer -- something that made it impossible for the Wings to trade him in the wake of Hasek's surprise return.

For more insight into the mind of Hasek, read this piece by ESPN.com's Jim Kelley (thanks to PJ at Sharkspage for the link). Kelley covered the Sabres for quite a while, and was on the beat for Hasek's entire tenure in Buffalo -- which included a physical confrontation when Kelley had the temerity to question the severity of a Hasek injury. It's well worth your time, and goes a long way toward explaining Ken Holland's statement yesterday regarding Haskek, especially after hearing Darren Pang talked about how Hasek's announcement was received in the Wings locker room.

Despite all the controversy, the Red Wings have the best record in all of hockey. But being the best team in hockey means you get to increase ticket prices.

Down in Dallas, Bill Guerin scored a goal with only 6.2 seconds remaining in regulation to give Dallas a 4-4 tie with the visiting Islanders. New York contended that Guerin kicked the puck into the net, but replay officials disagreed. In New Jersey, the Rangers crept one point closer to the Islanders for eighth place in the East as they got a rare win over New Jersey in the Meadowlands, 3-1.

Los Angeles, gamely fighting to make the playoffs with a depleted roster, dropped an easy two points when they lost 3-2 to Columbus in OT. The same could be said of Nashville, who dropped a 5-2 decision to hapless Chicago. Another team fighting to stay in the playoff hunt, Phoenix, lost 5-3 to Anaheim. Dany Heatley may have returned to the lineup in Atlanta, but nothing seems to be working for the Thrashers, as they were whipped 5-1 by Edmonton.

And finally, in Vancouver, Jarome Iginla scored a third period goal to give the Flames a 3-2 win over the Canucks. Roman Turek, recently returned from an injury, had 13 of his 32 saves in the third period.

And in some off-ice news, Comcast, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers, has announced the intention to purchase Disney, owner of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In case of a successful takeover, one would have to assume that Comcast would dump the Ducks ASAP. It would also mean that the Flyers, and not the Ducks, would become the official hockey team of ESPN, and makes one wonder what affect Comcast's purchase might have on the eventual NHL television rights negotiations.

In other off-ice news, a Winnipeg lawyer took Don Cherry' statement about who wears visors in the NHL to the test -- and found out he was right. Hat tip to Jordon Cooper at The Hockey Pundits.

UPDATE: Neglected to note that the Pens and Leafs completed a deal, with Drake Berehowsky going back to Toronto in exchange for Ric Jackman. No word yet on how long Jackman cried after getting the news. Berehowsky, on the other hand, must be overjoyed at the prospect of rejoining his fellow Maple Thugs.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2004 at 7:28 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.

Daniel Briere scored twice, helping Buffalo to a 2-1 win over San Jose. Since entering the league in 1991, the Sharks have failed to win in Buffalo in 11 tries (0-11). With the win, the Sabres moved a point closer to the eighth place Islanders, who tied the Avalanche in Colorado, 1-1. Rick DiPietro had 36 saves, including a tumbling backhanded glove save on Steve Konowalchuk. Phil Suave had 35 saves for Colorado.

Antero Nittymaki got his third NHL win in as many starts, leading the Flyers to a 4-1 win over New Jersey. Nittymaki had 35 saves for Philly, and some might argue why the Flyers needed to trade for Sean Burke at all.

The Maple Leafs came back from two goals down to tie Tampa Bay 4-4, with the help of a disputed icing call. Toronto has been getting lucky a lot lately, and the Hockey Rodent has taken notice. Marian Hossa, who could have died last week if he hadn't been wearing a shield when struck by a puck that came off the stick of Toronto's Ken Klee (at least according to an account from TSN's Pierre Maguire), scored twice for Ottawa in a 3-1 win over stumbling St. Louis.

In Florida, the underachieving Victor Kozlov scored twice in seven seconds in the second period, and it was all Las Panteras needed in a 2-1 win over the Habs. The Penguins lost to Boston 6-3 at home, their 12th loss in a row (setting a new franchise record), and their 11th straight loss at home (tying a league mark).

Dean McAmmond and Jarome Iginla scored twice each for Calgary in a 5-2 win over Atlanta. In St. Paul, the patchwork Kings beat the Wild, 3-1.

UPDATE: Here's another Rodent reference, where he reveals the real curse that's kept the Rangers out of the playoffs since 1997.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2004 at 1:15 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.

Monday was an off-day for the league, but there was more than enough news to keep everyone busy. The Sean Burke to Philly deal was finally announced, with Branko Radivojevic and prospect Ben Eager also going to the Flyers in exchange for center Mike Comrie. Jeff Hackett, whose battle with Vertigo (along with Robert Esche's knee injury) led the Flyers to acquire Burke, announced his retirement. With a number of defenseman coming back from injury, GM Bobby Clarke shipped veteran defenseman Eric Weinrich to St. Louis in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2004 draft.

In Los Angeles, head coach Andy Murray and his staff got contract extensions from the Kings. In Tampa, coach John Tortorella and General Manager Jay Feaster were rewarded with extensions of their own. Across Florida, Panthers head coach and GM Rick Dudley stepped down as coach, handing over the reins to assistant John Torchetti.

With the New Jersey Nets moving to Brooklyn, the Devils are making their own plans for a new home -- in their case a new arena in Newark that should be ready for the 2007 season.

Over All Star Weekend, Hall of Famer in waiting Patrick Roy threw out a few ideas on how to change the game:

"I think to evolve the game you should have the goal post smaller to the outside and go back to the 10-inch pad, Roy stated.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2004 at 1:07 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.

Part IV of the Battle of Ontario turned into a thriller, as Toronto roared back from four goals down to defeat the Senators in Kanata, 5-4 in OT. Mats Sundin tied the score at 4 with 5:03 remaining, completing Toronto's climb back from an early 4-0 deficit, and Owen Nolan completed the comeback scoring with just 30.7 seconds left in OT. For the Senators, the All-Star break couldn't have come at a better time, as two players, Chris Neil and Karel Rachunek, left the game due to the flu. Wade Redden never even made it onto the ice:

"I've never seen anything like it," Senators defenseman Curtis Leschyshynsaid. "I saw three guys getting intravenous.

"They brought in soup and rice just to try and get food into the guys. I saw players lying on couches with blankets wrapped around them before an NHL game. It's beyond comprehension."

But Alfredsson wasn't about to alibi.

"That's no excuse," the Ottawa captain said. "We went out there to try and keep it simple, but you could see at the end they had a lot more energy.

"It's really frustrating."

Both Redden and Marian Hossa, whose visor was shattered by a shot of the stick of Ken Klee, resulting in a gash that required nine stitches, have pulled themselves out of the All-Star Game. After the game, Damien Cox said it's time for the Senators to ditch Patrick Lalime.

The night's other big matchup came out West, where a Brett Hull goal gave Detroit a 3-2 win over Colorado in OT, completing a comeback from a 2-0 deficit. Avalanche fans, upset at a call that gave double minors for high sticking to both Adam Foote and Steve Konowalchuk with only 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation, pelted the ice with debris throughout the OT period.

Off the ice, erstwhile Wings goalie Dominik Hasek worked out in full gear on Wednesday and Thursday, but there's still no target date for his return.

Back East, the Canucks escaped the New York metropolitan area with a win, shutting out the Devils, 4-0. Henrik and Daniel Sedin both scored for Vancouver, while Dan Cloutier got the shutout. In Buffalo, the Bruins polished off the Sabres 6-2. Joe Thornton, his right eye nearly swollen shut because of a broken cheekbone, had a goal and an assist.

In Nashville, the Lightning grabbed another two points, beating the Predators, 5-2. Five different players scored for Tampa Bay, and Cory Stillman added three assists. In San Jose, the Sharks padded their lead in the Pacific, beating Phoenix 5-0. Evgeny Nabakov had 20 saves in the shutout win.

Out in Calgary, St. Louis snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Flames. Rookie Michael Ryder got the game winning goal in the third period of Montreal's 2-1 win over the Islanders. And finally, in Atlanta, the Flyers crushed the Thrashers, 5-1. Antero Nittymaki got his second NHL win in as many starts for Philly, stopping 20 shots.

A few weeks ago, I said the game was in trouble. And in terms of its long-term financial future, there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome. But in just those few weeks, the races have tightened considerably, with no one team able to take control of either conference.

In the East, Philly, Toronto and Tampa Bay all lead their divisions -- but with the Lightning really the only team that could feel comfortable as they lead both Atlanta and Florida by 15 points. Philly has a mere five point lead over New Jersey, while Toronto has both Boston and Ottawa well within striking distance.

In the West, Colorado, Detroit and San Jose lead their divisions, the Wings with the biggest lead, 12 points over St. Louis and Nashville. Despite its league leading 73 points, Colorado still has the Canucks in their rear view mirror just one point behind. San Jose has a five point lead over Dallas, though the Stars seemed to have finally righted the ship.

Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star says it's time to throw the book at Don Cherry. Maybe the CBC should fire Cherry, where he'll wait about five minutes before somebody from TSN gives him a new job. Jim Abbot, a conservative MP, called the investigation a waste of taxpayer money.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2004 at 7:09 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 Philadelphia, Antero Nittymaki stopped 19 shots in his NHL debut, giving the Flyers' 5-1 win over Washington. With Robert Esche out three weeks with an MCL tear, and Jeff Hackett still shaking off the effects of ertigo, the rookie will also get the call Thursday night in Atlanta. After the win, Philly stood atop the Eastern Conference with 70 points, just a point aheadd of idle Toronto.

Don't look now, but the Stars continue to win, stopping Columbus 1-0. Jason Arnott got the game's only goal, as Marty Turco got his 26th win for Dallas. After looking out of it just a few weeks ago, the Stars are now in sixth place in the West, just three points behind division leader San Jose.

It was Mike Richter Night at Madison Square Garden, as the Rangers honored the goalie who led them to the 1994 Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, Marian Gaborik spoiled the party when his third period goal gave the Wild a 4-3 win over New York.

Oli Jokinen had two goals as Florida beat Phoenix in OT, 5-4. The humanization of Brian Boucher continues. In Edmonton, St. Louis' winless skid hit eight, as Edmonton scored four second period goals in a 5-3 win. And out in Anaheim, the Ducks beat the Hurricanes, 3-2.

Colby Cosh has been looking at goal differential, and has declared Nashville the luckiest team in the NHL. Peter White and I had a similar conversation about Pythagorean standings in baseball a couple of months ago, and we knocked around the possibility that the difference between projected and actual results might be laid at the feet of the manager. I'm not sure you can posit the same theory in hockey.

One of those unlucky teams according to Colby was the Ottawa Senators. Looking to add some toughness to the lineup, it looks like the Sens might want to bring back enforcer Rob Ray. Then again, having Rayopen and close the door to the bench for the rest of your players can get to the ice might not be the most productive use of a roster spot.

The woes of the Pittsburgh Penguins have attracted the attention of the New York Times. Joe LaPointe chronicles the fall of the Penguins as an object lesson in what's wrong with the NHL.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 5th, 2004 at 6:51 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 Washington, where Captain Off Wing was watching the action in person, the Capitals ended Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory. New Cap Anson Carter had what turned out to be the game winning goal and an assist, while rookie Maxime Ouellet had 38 saves. Better yet, the game was highlighted by much chippy play, resulting in the issuing of four separate fighting majors. In the night's best tussle, Cory Sarich got the unanimous decision over Washington's Matt Pettinger, who left the ice battered and bloody after a more experienced Sarich scored a number of unanswered blows. Despite the loss, Tampa Bay is still well in control of the Southeast, still leading Atlanta by 13 points.

Possibly inspired by the presence of old skool rapper LL Cool J, the Islanders brought in the noise and shook off their funk in time to post a 5-4 OT win over visiting Vancouver.

Trailing 3-1 with a little more than four minutes to go, the teams combined for four goals before the end of the third period, the last with only 1:22 remaining as Henrik Sedin saved some Canuck pride and salvaged at least a point. But after Trevor Linden took a double minor with a little less than a minute to go in regulation, the Islanders had all the help they needed, and Adrian Aucoin scored the game winner just :36 into the extra period. Vancouver Canucks Op Ed reviews their team's NY road trip, and feels lucky they're making it to New Jersey alive.

With the win, the Isles kept pace with seventh place Montreal, who beat Pittsburgh, 4-3. The Canucks remain in fourth in the West, trailing Conference-leading Colorado by two.

In Boston, Dany Heatley scored his first goal of the season, but Brian Rolston of the Bruins scored the game winner in the third period, helping Boston to a 5-4 win. Joe Thornton sccored twice for Boston. In New Jersey, the Devils kept pace with the Bruins after downing the Senators, 2-1. After the game, Boston and New Jersey were tied for fourth with 67 points, while the recently torrid Senators are in sixth with 66 points. All those teams gained ground on the Maple Leafs, who passed up two easy points when they lost in Chicago to the Blackhawks, 4-1.

Out West, all three division leaders managed to win. Colorado downed Carolina 3-1; Detroit beat pesky Nashville 4-1; and San Jose shutout Florida 3-0. Please note, only two nights remain before the All Star break.

Elsewhere in the NHL, Eric Lindros finally says the "R" word, and George Vescey of the New York Times echoes the sentiment, saying it's time for Lindros to follow fellow Ranger Mike Richter into the sunset. And speaking of Richter, the Rangers are going to retire his number in a ceremony at the Garden tonight. Hockeybird remembers a great career.

Is it any wonder that before this season, Lindros was battered for his play because a number of critics said he was clearly playing to avoid injury; yet this season, when he played with the style that made him feared in Philadelphia, it seemed to only be a matter of time before he got another major concussion?

Back in Rhode Island, Joe Tasca dissects an email on the CBA from Leafs defenseman Bryan McCabe. Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Black, Red and Gold is still angry about Pat Quinn.

UPDATE: The annual Beanpot Tournament is on tap in Boston, and Costa Tsiokos has some thoughts.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2004 at 7:25 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.

Bobby Holik had two goals, including the game winner, as the Rangers derailed the surging Canucks, 4-3. Before last night's victory, the Rangers had only won once in their last 10 games (1-7-2). Mike Dunham had 27 saves for the Rangers, who sit in 10th place six points behind the eighth place Islanders. Vancouver remains in fourth place in the West, trailing Colorado by one point for both the Western Conference and the Northwest Division lead.

Despite the win, glensathersucks.com remains in business. Thanks to Tom Benjamin for the link. On the bright side, Eric Lindros says he's feeling better.

Tampa Bay won for the sixth straight time, beating the Atlantic-leading Flyers 2-1 last night in Philly. There was bad news for the Flyers, as starting goalie Robert Esche sprained his knee in the second period, forcing him to leave the game in favor of minor league call-up Neil Little. Little proceeded to give up goals on the first two shots the Lightning took on him, icing the victory. In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, Tim Panaccio speculates that Esche's injury may force GM Bobby Clark to trade for a starting goaltender, as former starter Jeff Hackett is still trying to shake the effects of vertigo.

With the win, Tampa Bay extended their Southeast Division lead over Atlanta to 13 points. Philly still leads New Jersey in the Atlantic by three.

The Joel Quennville death watch continues in St. Louis, as the Wild shutout the Blues 4-0 last night in St. Paul. Dwayne Roloson had 24 saves for Minnesota, and Wes Walz scored twice, including one on a sweet penalty shot that beat Reinhard Divis on his glove side. Divis was in the game to replace starter Chris Osgood. After the loss, St. Louis remains in ninth place with 58 points, one point behind the Kings for eighth. Minnesota is in 10th with 53.

Elsewhere in the Southern portion of the standings, Columbus tied Phoenix 3-3 after getting a goal on a penalty shot by David Vyborny. Brian Boucher is looking all too human lately. And finally, in Edmonton, Jarret Stoll scored in OT to give the Oilers a 2-1 win over Anaheim.

Something is rotten in New Jersey. Steve Ovadia has the details. Pat Quinn has been named head coach of Team Canada for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. Black Red and Gold tells us why that's a bad idea. and when you have a chance, be sure to stop by the latest addition to the hockey blogging community, Tasca's Take.

The latest from ESPN's John Buccigross is up. This week John gives us 10 suggestions to improve the game. I'm up for all of them, with the exception of making the nets bigger. Elsewhere at ESPN.com, they've finally put up their special section on the NHL All-Star Game, destined to fade into obscurity by being placed on the calendar one week after the Super Bowl, and one week before the Daytona 500.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2004 at 8:05 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.