Off Wing Opinion

The Washington Caps were shorthanded on the ice on Long Island tonight, as rookie phenom Alex Ovechkin was a late scratch. Though the Caps won't confirm the nature of Ovechkin's injury, Caps beat writer Tarik el-Bashir still got the skinny:

An industry source, however, confirmed yesterday that Ovechkin has been battling a nagging groin muscle strain for at least two weeks. The source also said that Ovechkin's injury is not believed to be serious.

"He's had a groin strain going back a few weeks," the source said. "He doesn't have the acceleration we're used to seeing. I don't think it's getting worse, but I don't think it's getting better. It's not serious, just one of those nagging things that, until you get a string of days between games, is going to linger."

The team's next game is Friday night at home against Toronto.

As for tonight's game, the Caps, who were also without Dainius Zubrus, put up a pretty good fight, but still dropped the game, 5-3.

Chris Shelley is wondering why:

So, in the first period of tonight's Leafs/Habs tilt, Saku Koivu ran afoul of an absurd cross-checking penalty. The referees were forced to call Sheldon Souray for accidentally shooting the puck over the glass, which gave the Leafs a two-man advantage. The Leafs scored. This is the very essence of the referees "deciding the game" (even though they had no choice on the second call). That's something philistines like me really, really hate. But hey, it's no big deal, right? It's not as if a rule like this could ever decide the Stanley Cup.

Don Cherry made a similar point during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast this past Saturday. I have to admit, I really didn't think the NHL was going to institute the delay of game rule this season. After experimenting with it during the '02-03 campaign, the AHL abandoned the rule for whatever reason. However, the NHL decided it was worth implementing after giving the impression over the last few years that it was a dead issue.

Quite frankly, I think referees should be allowed an element of discretion when it comes to determining the intent of a defenseman who clears the puck into the stands in his own end. The purpose of the rule is to prevent players from deliberately stopping play, but as it turns out, many delay of game penalties are the result of d-men shooting the puck over the glass accidentally. Worse, a lot of these penalties are resulting in two-man advantages that are playing a role in a game's outcome.

Looking back, Souray's penalty didn't cost his team the game, although it could have. Regardless, it doesn't really matter if the Canadiens lose a game in January on a delay of game penalty (unless they miss the playoffs by a point), but imagine if they lost a critical playoff game in overtime on a similar call.

I can see the argument in favor of the rule. Granted, shooting the puck into the stands is unintentional in many instances, but so are high sticks, for example. When a player unknowingly cuts an opponent with his stick during a collision in the corner, he is still assessed a double minor, even though the infraction wasn't deliberate (in the AHL, all high sticks that draw blood are majors - I'd love to see the NHL introduce that rule).

The bottom line here is the delay of game rule is something we're going to have to live with. But I can't help but dread the reaction of the fan base when a team loses a playoff series as a result of a delay of game call.

Then again, perhaps it'd be fitting if this year's Stanley Cup was awarded after a power play goal.

Eric Wilbur and Nancy Marrapese-Burrell write a few nice pieces on Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas in today's Boston Globe. From Nancy's article:

''I made peace with the fact that I wasn't going to play in the NHL," (Thomas) said. ''I was happy to end out my career in Finland. Signing this year, getting sent down [to Providence] wasn't in my plans, but getting called back up, it was like awakening an old dream that you'd forgotten about.

''It's actually even better that way. I know how much luck it actually takes to get here. I needed two goalies to get hurt but also how much hard work you put in over the years, so you appreciate it more."

I had the pleasure of talking with Thomas quite a bit when I covered the P-Bruins during the

As always, be sure to check out this week's edition of Buccigross, which contained an interesting nugget in John's mailbag that made me see red:

I have asked a number of people if they think the Rangers will ever retire Adam Graves' No. 9. I find that most Islanders fans say yes, while many Rangers fans surprisingly say no. I'm thinking that Islander fans are more accustomed to blue-collar, hard-working players rewarded for their efforts (Nystrom, Gillies), where Rangers fans hold higher standards for jerseys they retire. What's your take? I have a steak dinner on your response.

Now, I've gotten over the mindless Rangers hatred that ruled my psyche into my late 20s, but it's letters like this that make it all flood back. I still clearly remember how Rangers fans would continue to insist that their team was the best in the NHL, even as the Isles went to five straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning four (and beating the Rangers in the playoffs each time) and 19 straight playoff series.

As for Clark Gillies and Bobby Nystrom, last time I checked, they had 8 Stanley Cup rings between them. Gillies, by dint of his physical presence on a line with Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy, now has his bust in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

As for Nystrom, he was only an Islander for his entire career, and you might remember him scoring the OT goal against the Flyers that gave the Islanders their first Stanley Cup in 1980. And for those of you who still doubt their value to that squad, here's how former Boston Bruins defenseman and soon to be ex-Isles GM Mike Milbury remembers a second round playoff series with the Isles in 1980, the year of the first Cup:

There was no reason to be overly concerned from our vantage point in Boston. Since my first full season in 76-77, we had averaged 106 points per year. Entering this playoff series, we had reached the Stanley Cup finals twice and lost in the seventh game of the semi-finals in overtime in the previous three seasons. Only Montreal had checked our aspirations to win a Cup. And just barely at that...

What we didn't know was that our upcoming opponent was well-prepared to meet the physical challenge.

Of course, I didn't know this until much later but the Islanders were spending the evening getting ready. You have to understand that you just don't get ready to play in places like Philadelphia and Boston in that era. You had to be prepared to be hit and bruised and punched if you wanted to win.

Somewhere in a Boston hotel room, Bob Nystrom was doing just that. Over a soft drink and cookies...yeah, right...Nystrom was meeting with Clark Gillies...

The Rangers. Have. Higher. Standards?

Please.

BTW -- Gravy belongs in the rafters at MSG. They don't get that Cup in 1994 without him. Any standard that would preclude the franchise honoring Graves is not a standard worth enforcing.

It's a little more than two weeks before players from the NHL take to the ice in Turin for the Winter Olympic Games. And if Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News had his way, it would be the last time:

THE NHL should make this its last Olympics. Either that or petition to play in the Summer Olympics, as NBA stars do. No other professional league tries to play a world tournament in midseason. No other professional league would allow it.

There was a time when I would have disagreed with that sentiment, but that time is long gone. Between the endless regular season and playoffs, a World Championship every Spring, and a World Cup of Hockey every four years now as well, we simply ask too much of the game's elite players.

Here's what awaits Simon Gagne and the rest of the Flyers who play in the Olympics once they return from Turin:

Upon rejoining their teammates, the Flyers' Olympians will play three games in 4 days and seven games in 12 days.

In March, they will have been required to play back-to-back games four times, and to get it all in by April 18, those back-to-backs total seven in the final 7

Carnival of the NHL #18 has just been posted over at Abel to Yzerman, and what a carnival it is. Be sure to stop by and check out the Terry Sawchuck edition -- which takes a special look at goaltending -- today.

As always, with #18 in the can, #19 is on the clock, and the Steve Yzerman edition (apparently 6-time Cup winner Bryan Trottier doesn't deserve any love) is set to be hosted by Matt Saler at On The Wings. Stay tuned over there for details.

Looks like the fire sale in St. Louis is well underway:

The Carolina Hurricanes have acquired Doug Weight from the St. Louis Blues but it is just one part of a much larger trade involving other players and draft picks that won't be made official until after the Hurricanes and Blues complete the official trade conference call with the NHL.

Can't weight to see the full details of the deal. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: This trade seems like it favors the Blues, at least in the long-term. In exchange for Weight and a Finnish forward, St. Louis receives three draft picks, Jesse Boulerice, Mike Zigomanis, and Swedish prospect Magnus Kahnberg.

Zigomanis has never been able to produce at the NHL level, despite putting up excellent numbers in the minors over the past three years. He's only 25, and he'll definitely see time on the Blues' top line. Boulerice is essentially a replacement for Aaron Downey, who was lost on waivers to Montreal. Kahnberg has been a reliable scorer in Sweden, but his stock dropped last year when his production went down. Still, if St. Louis can re-sign him in the off-season, he'll certainly have a chance to make the team during training camp in September.

Does this move make the Hurricanes a better team? Right now, undeniably. At the same time, if they don't make the finals, this is a flop. Weight is not likely to re-sign with the team, and Zigomanis has tremendous upside. Granted, you have to give up a quality player to get the desired return, but to me, trading away Zigomanis (along with Radim Vrbata earlier in the season) is sacrificing a lot of depth for next year.

I think we have to wait until the off-season to determine the true quality of this deal for Carolina. If they bring home the silver chalice, my days as an armchair GM are over. If they don't and Dougie bolts back to Missouri, Larry Pleau will look like a thief.

Today in the Washington Post, Tom Boswell gets around to noticing what hockey fans have known for a couple of months now -- that Alex Ovechkin is the real deal:

To Ovechkin, what he does on the ice seems simple and yet slightly inexplicable. With time, his English will continue to improve. But perhaps no words, including his own, will ever entirely explain what he tries to do or why he does it. That gift for creativity, for the unexpected, is the future of the Capitals in a nutshell. If the franchise can find players who can complement Ovechkin -- making him better even as he makes them better -- then this season's ugly 18-27-5 record will be remembered fondly as a time when great things were first glimpsed. Ovechkin is that good.

We know, we know, we know. Still, it's nice to see the paper's top columnist acknowledge what's happening on the rink these days.

UPDATE: When I first read the Post story on yesterday's game, an ad for Caps tickets was running that included an Ovechkin highlight reel.

POSTSCRIPT: It seems like a lot of folks picked up on the comment I first heard at Gary Bettman's speech at the National Press Club last Fall. It was then that the MC for the event mentioned that it was generally acknowledged that the Post had cut back its coverage of the team.

Well, it was more than just that. In fact, on most mornings earlier this season, you'd find articles on the Caps buried deep inside the Sports section. But now that Ovechkin has caught fire, the quantity of the coverage and its placement has increased. Further, that comment on coverage was never an indictment of the work of Caps beat writer Tarik el-Bashir, who's been solid throughout the season.

By now, I'm sure plenty of you have heard about the "Love Me Two Times" shootout that took place on Saturday in Dallas between the Stars and the Red Wings.

Like plenty of other NHL Center Ice subscribers, I'd decided to watch Stars-Red Wings instead of the local NBC affiliate feed of the Flyers and the Lightning:

With the Stars up 2-1 after two rounds, Turco had a chance to seal the victory by stopping Henrik Zetterberg. He did, too, forcing him to push the puck wide right.

But Turco's stick slipped out of his hands while he tried to poke away the puck. Turco immediately turned to an official and shook his blocker to indicate he did nothing wrong. The official apparently agreed because the Stars began celebrating. Then replay officials took another look, ruled it a thrown stick and credited Zetterberg with the tying score.

"I didn't mean to throw it, but I'm sure it was the right call," Turco said.

Unfortunately, the news of exactly what happened might not have gotten to subscribers of the league's PPV package, NHL Center Ice. That's because the feed to the Dallas-Red Wings game went dark once it appeared the Stars had won the shootout that was set to continue after video review.

If I hadn't accidentally tripped over the local NBC affiliate again, I wouldn't have known what had happened until hours later. While it might not seem like a big deal, the problem is that subscribers pay a considerable sum of money for the PPV package. And when you're a paying customer, it's not out of line to expect somebody in the control room to pay attention to what was happening on the ice in Dallas.

There's a very simple way to fix this problem. As any NHL Center Ice subscriber knows, game feeds often end just before the next commercial break after the game goes final. Instead, it might be a better idea for the league to arrange that the feed continue automatically for at least five minutes after the game goes final.

It's a minor adjustment, and one that would have helped avoid the mistake on Saturday. And besides, it's the sort of service that the few dedicated customers that the NHL already has deserve to get.

UPDATE: Jay Kumar writes:

Saw your post about NHL Center Ice cutting away from the end of the Stars-Red Wings shootout. I

On Saturday night, the Carolina Hurricanes feted Ron Francis (Windows Media), the greatest player in franchise history, and, truth be told, one of the greatest NHL players of all time.

The Acid Queen loved it all, but couldn't help but notice something was amiss at ESPN:

And, in a move that came as a surprise to absolutely no one that's paid any attention at all to the history of the Carolina Hurricanes, Bristol showed their collective asses by refusing to even acknowledge it.

I wonder if OLN will show a clip this week. I think they ought to.

The Florida Panthers offered Roberto Luongo a five-year $30 million contract.

In turn, Roberto and his agent said no thanks, call us when the season is over.

I'm sure it didn't escape Luongo's notice that Devils goalie Martin Brodeur just signed a six-year $31 million contract extension, essentially setting the market rate for an elite goalie.

Which means the Panthers think Luongo is worth a little less than $1 million per season more than Brodeur, but Team Luongo thinks they can do better.

I think they have a good argument. Nobody in the NHL faces more shots (2nd place Olie Kolzig is 342 behind), and nobody in the NHL has more saves (2nd place Tomas Vokoun is 319 behind). Sure, he's only 7th in save percentage, but can anyone honestly believe that all but a handful of goalies would be shellshocked in short order behind Florida's pourous defense?

You'd have to say that Luongo has the Panthers over a barrel. So after getting stiffed, what should Florida GM Mike Keenan's next move be?

At anything more than $6 million per season, Luongo is going to consume a big chunk of any team's salary cap. So, though the argument can be made that Luongo is the best goalie in hockey, his salary is going to make building the rest of the team around him more than a little problematic.

Luongo can't become a free agent until the end of the 2006-07 season, and is scheduled to make $3.2 million next year. This helps Keenan, because if he lets it leak that he might want to move Luongo before the March 9 trade deadline, he won't have to settle for a fire sale price.

Anybody who acquires Luongo now gets the one of the best goalies in hockey to anchor a Stanley Cup run, and another season at an economically sensible $3.2 million. Sounds like a good deal to me.

As for Keenan, his Panthers are almost at the bottom of the Southeast Division, staring up at Carolina, Tampa Bay and Atlanta -- three teams that are on the upswing, and look to be there for a while. Sure, head coach Jacques Martin's team is only four points out of a playoff spot, but is the race for 8th and an opportunity to get crushed in 4 games by either Ottawa or Carolina really something to look forward to?

Here's how Sports Illustrated's Allen Muir saw it a few days ago:

More than anything, the Cats need to convince Roberto Luongo that the future is bright and nearer than he thinks. That means not moving a veteran presence like Joe Nieuwendyk or Gary Roberts unless the return is staggering and promises to improve the team immediately. If [Olli] Jokinen can't be signed to an extension, he must be moved before the deadline in order to get some sort of value out of this prime asset. There'll be plenty of suitors for his type of talent, so that return could be fairly lucrative.

Well, it certainly looks like Luongo has decided to wait to see what el jefe de las panteras has in store for the future before he signs another contract. But if there isn't any long term hope, and little chance of convincing Jokinen, who after all last time I looked was Florida's captain, why stop with just trading him?

Heck, if I were Keenan, I'd pack all four of those aforementioned players out of town in exchange for boatloads of young, cheap talent, and then get ready for the draft lottery. Then again, trading experience for youth isn't exactly SOP for Iron Mike.

Stay tuned.

That's ex-NHL player and Russian National squad stalwart Igor Larionov, who surfaced recently for a couple of games in Sweden's minor league (Swedish language skills required).

My hockey podcasting partner Joe Tasca sent in an interesting note last night:

BTW, [Andrew] Raycroft has been sent down to Providence. He played last night and is supposed to start today. Point being his stock has officially fallen off the radar screen. [Craig] Anderson's backing up [Tim]Thomas, while Raycroft has been designated as the organization's 4th goaltender. I wonder which Western teams are calling.

Last night, the P-Bruins beat Springfield, 4-3 (SO). Raycroft had 20 saves in regulation and OT, then stopped all five Springfield players in the shootout.

I'm at home watching the NHL on NBC pre-game show, and I have to give the network a big thumbs up on their work so far. We're only three weeks in, and it feels like they've been covering the league all season long.

The camera work has been impressive, and the announcers have been great -- none better than ex-CBC hand Chris Cuthbert. I'm glad more American hockey fans will have a chance to see him work.

I'll be here for the next few hours watching all three NBC afternoon games via NHL Center Ice, so feel free to drop off comments and emails.

UPDATE: Just saw Crosby tally a PPG on a 5-on-3, and the New Yorkers didn't welcome the news of the goal too warmly.

Another note: A couple of minutes ago Mike Emrick mentioned that the other night before the Pens-Caps game, Crosby and Alex Ovechkin privately exchanged autographed sticks.

UPDATE: Jussi Jokinen just scored another shootout goal, to help give Dallas a 2-1 win over Detroit. The win puts the Stars atop the Western Conference. Jokinen is now 7-for-7 in shootout attempts this season, and the Stars are 8-0 in the shootout.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Not so fast. On the last attempt for Detroit, Turco was ruled to have thrown his stick at Pavel Datsyuk. After video review, Datsyuk was given the goal, and the shooutout continues.

NOW IT'S REALLY OVER: Modano gets the clincher, 2-1 (SO) Stars win.

The worst team name in the history of the NHL, if not the history of professional sports, will be biting the dust next season: Beginning in 2006-07, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim will simply be known as the Ducks.

I hope this means no more Mighty Ducks movie clips on the jumbotron during games anymore.

I know a lot of you around the world still haven't had a chance to see Alex Ovechkin in action. If that's the case, you ought to start with this highlight reel on Google Video put together by Ben Bodner.

Go watch it now, I promise to wait.

Thanks to the Amazin Seth Chasin for the link.

UPDATE: The video is also available at You Tube. And in case you were wondering, the song you're hearing underneath the video is Boom by Crystal Method. You can find it on the 2000 release, Community Service.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Caps lose to Boston, 3-2. Alex stopped on penalty shot and a breakaway. Is it unfair to expect him to score every game?