NHL News

Lots going on in the shortened season. Here's a look at a few key headlines.

We don't need no Rules: Ryan Clowe was given a two game suspension for coming off the bench and starting a fight with Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks the other night, with about 9 seconds left in the game. The only problem: The NHL rule book calls for a ten game suspension in such cases, an attempt to eliminate the old bench clearing brawls of the 70's &80's. Brendan Shannahan, perhaps coerced by the league, deemed it a legal line change and thus no punishment was coming. Really? With that much time left? In that situation? With Joel Pavelski one of their leading scorers getting hit? I think the league and sheriff Shanny got this wrong and that they need to start taking suspensions more seriously. I also think they realized that Shaw should have been tossed for the cheap shot hit on Pavelski which lead to this and that perhaps was taken into account because the refs screwed up.

Head Hunting: Charlie Croyle of the Minnesota Wild will likely, and should, face discipline for launching himself at Matt Stajan of the Calgary Flames the other night. He targeted the head and came in high, the exact kind of hit the league as repeatedly said it's trying to get rid of. Stajan was able to return which, one can only hope will not have much impact on discipline but we shall see.

Isn't it Ironic: For the better part of a decade at the beginning of the 2000's the Ottawa Senators were a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and had a continuous run of very strong teams. Their downfall was very often, their lack of goaltending. Now when the team is without a number of star players and the season was pretty much written off, it is their goaltending that has kept them in a playoff spot. whether this continues for the next 28 games remains to be seen but it is almost laughable anyway. What Bryan Murray and John Muckler and Jacques Martin wouldn't have given for this problem back in the day.

Big Problems in Big Apple? The New York Rangers continue to struggle out of the gate and their high priced talent is underachieving. Captain Ryan Callahan has been good but Marian Gaborik, Brad Richards, Mark Stall and others haven't really produced. Rick Nash has been average and is out along with Ryan Mcdonough with injury and Henrik Lundqvist hasn't played particularly well. There is a lot of talent on this team but in a shortened season they need to pull it together quickly.

Flightless Penguin: Evgeni Malkin is out with a concussion. Not surprisingly after seeing his head whip into the boards like a rag doll. The Penguins have dealt with concussions to a super star before and can take solace in knowing that they have the right information and appropriate medical people to deal with this situation. There is no time table at present nor should there be any rush to get him back. Pittsburgh has the talent to make a run no matter where they place going into the post season.

Blackhawks Still Streaking: 19 games and counting. To say the Chicago Blackhawks have had an impressive start is like saying the Beatles were a decent band. They have look impressive grinding out close wins and getting better goaltending than many, myself included, figured they would. They have a ton of skill both upfront and on the back end and will certainly be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time.

Just Ducky: The Anaheim Ducks, much like the Montreal Canadiens last year, had an off year. To say they were a sleeper coming into this season was largely based on the fact that they didn't play well last year but on look at their roster should tell you they should have and now are playing up to and probably above expectations. This is a well rounded team still getting huge contributions from wily veterans Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu and will be a threat in the playoffs as long as Jonas Hiller can carry the load in goal.

What caught your attention this week?

NHL Wrap

Another weekend in the NHL and the compacted season has already had its share of surprises.

Lightning Strikes - The Lightning continue to be one of the hotter teams in the league and are running away
                            with the South east division. They can score goals and Anders Lindback has been solid in
                             his starting role. The addition of Conacher has helped Lecavalier regain some of his old
                             form as well.

Sharks Swarming - The San Jose Sharks are having great regular season success (Stop me when this sounds
                              familiar) but the real test will be to translate this great start into playoff success.

Flyers Floundering - The Flyers find themselves near the East basement and need to turn it around quickly if
                                they have any hope of making the playoffs.

Mr. Anderson - The Senators are getting great goaltending from Craig Anderson and will need to start
                         scoring more goals to help him in the wake of Jason Spezza's injury.

Capital Collapse - What is going on in Washington? I certainly didn't think the Capitals were a juggernaut but
                            few people imagined them struggling like this. If Adam Oates doesn't find a way to get
                            them going there is no telling what moves may be made.

Kessel not Running - The Leafs need Phil Kessel to get going if they have any chance at making the playoffs.
                                It's not for lack of effort that he hasn't scored yet but the pressure is mounting and it
                                is not a positive sign of things for folks in TO.

Ole Ole Ole Ole - The Habs have gotten off to a great start largely due to Carey Price, and some suspect
                             referring the other day, but look poised to make a push for the post season. Young
                             stars like Galchenyuk and Gallagher are helping the cause as are the veterans like Cole
                             and Markov.

Windy City - The Blackhawks are on a tear and if Cory Crawford can continue to give them solid
                     golatending they have enough talent in front of him to make a serious run.

Flames Burning out - Calgary has been trying to patch holes for years but it may be time to officially rebuild
                                 like their Alberta rival. I can't see Iginla wanting to stick around for this.

On the Bubble

While there are many teams that we can safely assume, or so we'll think anyway, that will make the playoffs like Pittsburgh, the Rangers, Vancouver and others, there are many teams who will be on the proverbial bubble, fighting for those last few playoff spots. There are also a few like the Blue Jackets and the Islanders who, well, likely won't be, so why don't we take a look at some of those teams and what can put them over the edge and into the playoffs.

Eastern Conference:

Tampa Bay: The Lightning have retooled added Sami Salo and Matt Carle on the blue line as well as
                   Anders Lindback in net. The Lightning had a tough time keeping the puck out of their net last
                   year, so if they can step it up in their own end they already have the offense to get them there.

Ottawa: A surprise playoff appearance last year was great for Sens fans, but it may be hard to repeat. In
             order to do so they will need more goals from their young players and stellar net minding from
             Craig Anderson, Robin Lehner or Ben Bishop as well as to sort out their blue line issues.

Montreal: The Habs performed below everyone's expectations last year, including their own, which is why
               there was a big shake up in management over the summer. With a healthy Andre Markov, Carey
               Price in net and lots of young talent, the Habs should make a push for the post season.

Carolina: Much like Montreal the Hurricanes are coming off a sub-par year that wasn't necessarily reflective
              of the talent they have. The have solid goaltending in Cam Ward and the additions of Jordan Stall
              and his two way game as well as mercurial sniper Alex Smein may give Kirk Muller's boys the
              edge they need.

Florida: The Panthers surprised many winning the south east last year, but will they be able to repeat? They
             have a solid top line but will rely on a lot of young players after that. They lost Jason Garrison in the
            off season and haven't added many new pieces so may drop off this year.

Buffalo: The Sabers made a push at the end of last season and fell just short. With a healthy Ryan Miller who
             looks to have a bounce back year, they have a shot at making the post season.

New Jersey: The Devils made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals last year, but have lost some pieces
                    from that team. Martin Brodeur while impressive in the playoffs, isn't getting any younger so it
                   will be interesting to see what happens in the swamp this year.

Winnipeg: The Jests added size up front to try and give them some more offensive presence but it will be on
                Andre Pavelic to keep providing stellar goaltedning if the Jets want to make the post season.

Toronto: The Leafs started out great last year then fell like, well leaves. They need to shore up their defense if
              they have any hope of making a serious run for the post season. Randy Carlisle has some young
              talent to work with but they will have to step it up for it to work.


Western Conference:

Calgary: The Flames also fell short of a playoff birth last year and once again find themselves relying heavily
              on Jerome Iginla and Miika Kipprusof if they have any hope of making the post season. They have
              young talent coming along but lack a front line center that could put them over the top.

Dallas: GM Joe Nieuwendyk went out and  added veterans Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney to help the Stars
           return to the post season. He also brought in Derek Roy in a trade from Buffalo. If he can resign
           Jamie Benn and they get solid goaltending from Kari Lehtonen the Stars have a shot.

Colorado: The Avalanche have really built up an impressive core of young players and have the youngest
                captain in league history. They will need these young stars to take the next step if they are to make
                the post season.

Minnesota: The Wild made the biggest splash in free agency, now it's time to see if it was worth it. They have
                 played a defensive style for years so they will rely on Zack Parise to help them up front. If they
                can find a way to manage more goals they could very well make the playoffs.

Edmonton:  The young Oilers will likely be one of the more exciting teams to watch this season. They have
                  an extremely impressive crop of young talent up front and Justin Shcultz on the back end but
                  they need to  keep the puck out of their own net in order to have any chance. Mark Fistic was
                 signed to help shore up the back end but it will have to be done by committee.

Phoenix: I know they won the pacific last year, but the Coyotes are an enigma at the best of times. They
              always seem to find a way to succeed, often because of stellar goaltending, so it will be interesting
              to see how it plays out in the desert with new ownership seemingly solidified.

Detroit: For the first time in a long time the Red Wings will not be considered a lock to make the post
            season. That's not to say they can't. They will however need stellar performances from Jimmy
            Howard and they defense to step up if they want to compete in the west.

Anaheim: The Ducks had an off year last year but with stars Ryan Getzlaf and Cory Perry in contract years
               you can bet the Ducks will step up and make a serious run. They have a solid goalie in Joans Hiller
               and Teemu Selanne returns for another year.