First off I wanted to publicly wish Ek a speedy recovery from his ruptured appendix. I know that everyone here at Hockeybuzz and all our readers want him to get back writing quickly but my hope is that he doesn’t think about us all too much at least for a couple days and focuses on getting better. We’re all thinking about you..
Secondly, I do not have any Hab rumours.
Or any rumours for that matter.
What I do have for today are many random thoughts on the 86 games played to date and the stories from all over the hockey world. I’ve been holding off on passing judgments so early in the season while I worked on a couple in-depth statistical pieces, but since I’ve been asked to fill this space with something and since the season is 6.99% over, I may as well not hold back. So here goes...
Congrats to Barry Melrose for his first NHL win since 1995. Here’s a good example of how quickly things could change in this league. Going into the night, Tampa was one of two winless teams. Now they’ve picked up points in four of six and are two points back of a playoff spot.
Some things never change though – the Leafs are still terrible in shootouts, no matter who is in goal. Good showing by the young Leafs though who deserved a better fate after dominating the Ducks, outshooting them 28-4 over the final two periods. I’m not crazy about the switching goalies for shootout thing – as the song goes, you gotta dance with the one that brought you. I’m sure Cujo knows that one.. But like I said, no rumours - just for today.
Great stat from James Duthie – no goalie who has ever come in for another goalie prior to the shootout has ever made a save (it’s happened three times, resulting in 6 goals on 6 shots).
Anaheim did pick up the two points but if I’m a Duck fan I’m still concerned about the lack of firepower. You’re not going to win a lot of games scoring just over 2 GPG. Last year they had three players over 20 G and another four in double digits (including Schneider & Bertuzzi). It’s still very early but so far Beauchemin leads the way with 3 goals, followed by Parros (who set his career high) and Rob Niedermayer with two. And here’s probably the most disturbing stat at the 6.99% mark:
Ryan Getzlaf + Corey Perry + Chris Kunitz = 0 goals, 4 assists, -14
Not to rub it in but Andy McDonald would look great in Anaheim right now.
Funny how all of a sudden everyone thinks Thomas Vanek is worth the contract when last year all he did was score 36 goals and everyone was ready to send him off to Austria.
I’ve been asking this one since last year – why does every good clean hit lead to a fight these days? I understand the need to stick up for your teammate but I think it’s gone too far. Depending on what time you’re reading this, Rene Bourque may just be getting out of the box now.
There’s some intense competition going on right now for the mantle of ‘Most Dynamic Duo’. Cast your votes now:
Pittsburgh – Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby: 3 goals, 20 points
NY Rangers – Aaron Voros and Brandon Dubinsky: 8 goals, 18 points
Phil Kessel now has 6 goals in 6 games – we saw him emerging last year down the stretch and into the playoffs but it’s time now to recognize him as one of the league’s top young snipers.
Devils are 4-1 and have scored just 9 goals. How are they 4-1? Two numbers and a word - 1.56, .931, Brodeur.
Of the many games I’ve seen so far this year, the best has been Detroit’s 5-4 win over the Rangers. I’m loving the many inter-conference games early on which has led to some really interesting matchups.
Speaking of interesting schedules, without doing the research I imagine that this week’s Philadelphia-San Jose home-and-home series is a first between those two.
Philly is the last winless team, while Edmonton and Minnesota are still undefeated. I’m not as “Pro Miettinen” as Ek but he is off to a fantastic start. Last year Mikko seemed to be on the verge of overtaking his older bro. This year they’ve both elevated their games in the early going.
What is the story with this TSN2 and why can’t I get it on Rogers?
Funny that the Kings have gone through so many goalies in recent years yet former King goalies like Garon, Legace and Huet are still thriving.
This Saturday is one of those rare days when all 30 teams will be playing. What a horrible day to schedule a graduation ceremony..
Dwayne Roloson appears to be the forgotten man in Edmonton.
So far this season, all of Vogue’s summer interns have a combined zero goals. And in an unrelated story, the Rangers are 6-2-1.
LA and Minnesota still haven’t allowed a PPG. Last year the Kings’ PK was second-last. Gotta give credit to Sean O’Donnell, Matt Greene and a revitalized (and finally healthy) Michal Handzus for the dramatic turnaround.
Greene’s contract extension didn’t generate many headlines but his 5 year, $14.75 mil contract was either a shrewd move by a calculating GM to lock up one of his core players at a reasonable price or a sign of everything wrong with the NHL. The number of long-term deals has to be unsettling to some owners who are still operating in a very much uncertain environment.
You’re not hearing a lot about Hossa in Detroit but he’s fitting in very well. His only goal was a game-winner and the Wings look like they’ve picked up pretty much where they left off last year - plus one elite player.
I love the NHL Network but there’s so much potential there to do something way, way better. See Network, NFL.
Seen Stamkos? Just kidding – before you bash, I’d love to hear about your accomplishments at the age of 18. The problem here of course is too much hype. That could even be used as the title of the Lightning’s season in review video.
While we’re on Tampa, still waiting for Malone and Vrbata to produce. It can’t be possible that they only put up those numbers last year because it was their contract year, is it?
Going back to last year I keep thinking that Calgary is a team that looks a lot better on paper than they do on the ice. Cammalleri’s creativity should be a good fit for Iginla and against all odds Bertuzzi may be back.
Ottawa still has issues in goal and with their secondary scoring. Last year the top 3 accounted for 44.6% of their goals, up from 39.5% the year prior. Early on that % has climbed to fifty.
I’ve always liked Andy Murray and I’m glad to see his Blues are off to a great start. The surprise there has to be Kariya, who has put up points in all five games (multiple points in four). In 2000 it seemed like he was a surefire Hall of Famer. Now, it’s unlikely at best but still quite an accomplishment that he should hit 1000 pts towards the end of the season.
I’ve started reading Don Cherry’s new book and it reads pretty much like this column – all over the map with no logical order or structure, which is what you’d likely want/expect from such a release. I’ll get a review up once I’m done and at some point post a list of recommendations as I make it through a growing stack of hockey books.
It’s almost November and still no word on Winter Classic tickets. I would imagine that if the League was interested in having people plan their New Years around this event and possibly travel down to Chicago they’d want to give people enough notice to book flights/hotels. I’m thinking it’s not a huge concern for them because there just won’t be many individual tickets for this one.
Two teams in Toronto? Interesting but highly, highly unlikely. I almost think the story was floated to make Hamilton seem like a more palatable option for the Leafs.
After some jokes earlier in the year about the Magical Brunstrom Tour, I had to mention Fabian’s impressive debut.
As usual, the Stars who impress me the most night after night are Brenden Morrow and Brad Richards. Richards got a bad rep towards the end in Tampa but he can play for my team any day. Even at $7.8 mil.
It’s a topic for another day but the Thrashers are one franchise in need of a turnaround. From what I’ve seen on tv and in the numbers reported, there have been a staggering amount of empty seats. If this is the year of the Gaborik and Bouwmeester watches, is it too early to start the Kovalchuk watch?
Wellwood had a goal and an assist on Tuesday after clearing waivers. A few years back, the Leafs had an impressive group of youngsters who played in the WJCs, including Wellwood, Steen, Stajan, White, Colaiacovo and Brendan Bell. Wellwood was the most skilled and he was given away. Bell’s gone, White may be next, Colaiacovo still struggles with consistency and Steen/Stajan haven’t proven to be more than third liners at best to date. Those players failing to reach their potential certainly won’t help speed up the rebuild.
Still waiting on Finger. There’s one player I’ll be rooting for because I think he’s gotten too much criticism compared to the number of bad contracts handed out around the league after July 1. Even my column which compared Finger to Sauer was really a critique of the way the team was positioning the signing and how UFAs are oversold to the fans/media rather than a critique of his play.
Edmonton swept the Battle of Alberta this past weekend and are playing like a team with the turbo button permanently pressed. What a joy to watch and yet another reason to get NHL Center Ice.
Another great reason early in the year is to see all these kids scoring their first NHL goals. If you’ve watched the young Kings and Coyotes so far you were able to see Drew Doughty, Oscar Moller, Wayne Simmonds, Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker each pot goal #1. Tonight it was Columbus’ Derek Dorsett, a former 7th round selection.
If you haven’t watched the Blue Jackets in a couple years, you now have a few great reasons to tune in, including Filatov, Voracek and Brassard.
To start, scoring wasn’t an issue for the Canucks but after three straight losses scoring 2 GPG, I’m sure the talking will start up again in Vancouver.
I wish everyone would just leave Patrick Marleau alone and stop expecting him to be something he isn’t. It’s up to the team to surround him with a strong supporting cast to compliment his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. And so far the Sharks look strong and deep – with 8 players putting up 4+ points in their six games.
So far I don’t think you could say that either the Hawks or Caps are content with Huet and Theodore, given their contracts.
Now one goalie who has taken steps in the right direction is Andrew Raycroft. Two wins last year in 19 appearances, two wins this year in two stars. His save percentage in those wins is just .875 but a win is still a win and at least he’s looked better than Budaj.
Montreal is obviously a top contender once again. Expectations are crazy there though – it’s going to be a long year with a lot of attention and hoopla. I can’t think of two better people to keep the Habs grounded than Gainey and Carbonneau.
If (hopefully when) Canada wins the Gold in 2010, I wonder how many offers Steve Yzerman will get that summer. In an ideal world he’s a Wing for life but in reality he’ll definitely have opportunities to be the guy making decisions, something that may not happen in Detroit for a while.
After a rough year last year due to injury, you can all climb back aboard the Shea Weber train. I still believe that long-term he may well end up surpassing Phaneuf.
Ray Whitney: All he ever does is put up points.
Same with Marc Savard. Those two never get any credit.
I didn’t think it would end up going in this direction a while back but at one point do the Pens look at their mix of forwards and move Jordan Staal for a winger to play on that top line or a defenceman? Staal has just 2 assists so far.
An unexpected, unknown d-man playing quite well: Niclas Wallin in Carolina.
At what point does Miika Kiprusoff fall out of the discussion of elite-level goalies? He just hasn’t played at a high level consistently since 06-07. Backstrom on the other hand should be up there..
Until he definitely says he isn’t going to be playing, Joe Sakic is still on my 2010 Canada roster.
If Stastny wants Kopitar money, is he worth it? The stats say yes but Kopitar is two years younger and still much more of a guy you can build a team around. That will be an interesting negotiation to watch.
Not sure if I’ve mentioned anything about Florida or the Islanders yet. In case Hedman or Tavares are reading this I thought I’d get you guys thinking about some possible destinations along with the usual suspects LA & Toronto.
But I’m not here to pass judgment just yet.
There’s still 93.01% of a season to go, plus playoffs.
Much more to come from the Hockeybuzz team in Ek's absence..
Danny –
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