Jan 6

-          Congrats to Sverige for their Gold medal win at the 2012 WJC in Calgary ….. Ottawa Senator first round pick Mike Zibenajad claimed Gold for the Swedes with his overtime tally, giving the Swedes their first Gold at the tournament in 3 decades ….. extremely interesting how badly the Swedes outshot their opponents in almost every game, yet had trouble bulging the twine …. Outshoot the Russkies 22-1 in period two, and not score ?? Bizarre …. Anyway, when the smoke cleared, Sverige had the biggest prize, Russia settled for Silver, and Canada claimed Bronze with a 4-0 shutout of the Finns …..

-          Canada have now gone three tournaments without a Gold. You better believe the heat will be on to win next year. Four years without Gold is not acceptable, not when you have as many hockey players and resources dedicated to the game as Canada does. The Maple Leaf now need to go on another 4 or 5 year run of nothing but Gold, or Canadian hockey fans will start to voice their displeasure ….

-          Scathing article by Joe Haggerty regarding Luongo’s place on the bench as the Canucks head into Boston for the first time since the 2011 Stanley Cup final, in which the Bruins humiliated Luongo. Remember ? Luongo sprawled out on his stomach, surrendering goal after goal, as the Bruins and their fans cheered another tally ? Luongo whining about not getting any compliments from Tim Thomas …..  that kind of stuff …  Haggerty nails it when he questions Luongo’s character ….. http://www.csnne.com/blog/bruins-talk/post/Haggerty-More-weak-sauce-from-Luongo?blockID=626624&feedID=3944

-          Goal of the Night : In a rare Anaheim win, Bobby Ryan swoops in on goal, gracefully weaving through Islander defencemen, before reaching around Evgeni Nabokov, who was down and committed in the butterfly, and slides the puck into the net for a goal that looked so easy to score ….. looks are often deceiveing …

-          Brian Burke is an interesting guy, well educated, likes the spotlight, outspoken, etc, etc ….. but he is all over the map with his latest tirade. Burke is given too much credit as smart hockey guy … he has done well during his career in management, but that is likely due more to the fact that he manages personal politics well, as opposed to him being a genius when it comes to running a team. His little rant about “ rats “ and having to send Colton Orr to the minors  was a total eyebrow raiser. Want the bottom line on fighting and safety in the NHL ? Call the rules as they are laid out in the rulebook. As it is, refs pick and choose what rules to enforce, and what players to penalize. There is zero uniformity in how the rules are applied. Just call the rules the way they are written, apply them the same to all players. That will make a huge difference. Call every charge, crosscheck and hook you see. After a few months of ridiculously high penalty numbers, the players will figure out to play within the rules. And take the suggestion of Mike Brophy, limiting ice time and availability of one dimensional fighters, like Colton Orr. Nothing against Orr as a person, but he is not a legit NHL hockey player. He is a legit bareknuckle hockey fighter. Two very different things. Leave the fighting to the actual players. That is how the game can actually police itself. You are always going to have players pushing the limits, and those guys can spend some quality time in the sin bin, and occasionally dropping the mitts. Guys like Orr, though, they aren’t legit NHL hockey players. When Orr fights Jody Shelley, it is not a part of the game. It is a sideshow. Yes, I get up and watch with fascination when two huge guys slug it out in the most primal of contests known to humanknd. An awesome display of strength and technique is what heavyweight fights in the NHL are. But they are still a sideshow. Now, Milan Lucic beating the tar out of Mike Komisarek, or Derek Dorsett dropping the mitts with Taylor Hall, those are actual unscripted, real, and spontaneous disagreements between hockey players. Bad judgement on Hall’s part, yes, but both scenario’s had real full time NHL players scrapping, and the intimidation factor was settled, with Lucic imposing his will on Komisarek, and Hall learning that he is not a fighter. Burke has found himself going in a few different directions on this issue. It isn’t that complicated. Put together a team of hockey players, put them on the ice, and actually enforce the rules the same way for every team. Want to cut down on concussions? The penalty is called charging. Use it. Open Ice Hitter loves the huge open ice demolitions, but they do hurt people. Sometimes they are legal checks. Sometimes one player takes 15 strides and charges across the ice intending to hurt another player. That is a Patrick Kaleta specialty. It is called charging, and intent to injure. Call it that way.

Jan 4

-          Russia needed the big names to perform against Team Canada, and did they ever come through … Evgeni Kuznetsov buried the Canadians with a monster showing, the second year in a row that the smooth Russian forward stepped up to ruin Team Canada’s chances at Gold …. Nail Yakupov seized the moment as well, playing the role of setup man … Canada outplayed the Russians badly to open the game, but after 20 minutes the Russians led 2-0. The difference was the Russians being able to score when they had the opportunity, while Canada could not capitalize on their opportunities. Russia got spectacular goaltending from Andrei Vasilevski for most of the game, while Scott Wedgewood failed to deliver the huge performance Canada has been wanting from a goalie in the WJC since Steve Mason led the team to a Gold medal …. As for any suggestion that officiating cost Canada this game, that idea can be dismissed by acknowledging that the referee’s where in fact horrible, but their delusional calls did not give one team a favor over the other. The blind bats were terrible for both teams, as is often the case. The game is too fast, and has passed the on-ice referee, leaving them to look like fools, especially when the video replay shows what really happened seconds later …. Things looked ugly in the third period, when Canada trailed 6-1, with the team looking like it was ready to come completely unravelled. Credit to the team for rallying to close the gap to 6-5, and hitting another goalpost, something Team Canada specialized in during the game …. This is not one of those years in which Team Canada management need to be criticized for poor player selection. They have a good mix of skill and size, and the only player who could be looked on as the coach’s boy, Brendan Gallagher, played alright, and is an accomplished scorer in the WHL. This isn’t the same thing as old Stan Butler taking his Brampton hacks, or having Casey Cizikas on the team last year while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins watched from Red Deer. The personnel on this edition of the team was okay, they just hit a Russian team that was ready for a huge challenge …

-          The Sweden – Finland game was another matter …horrid reffing helped sink the Finns, giving the Swedes some timely power plays …. And failing to give the Finns any calls, even though the Finns should have had an overtime powerplay ….. that coupled with Finnish goalie Aittokallio making a bad decision in trying to clear a puck, and Mikael Granlund mis-handling the biscuit during the shootout, and you have a bitterly disappointed Finland squad, a team that led the Swedes 2-0 heading into the third period ….

-          So, Tre Kronor versus the Bear in the Gold medal game ….Sweden has not won this game in 30 years …. Odds are that they should buck the trend, but who knows? The Swedish goalie has not been an All Star by any stretch of the imagination, and for all the Swedes shots, they aren’t bulging the twine much …. The Russians have been very opportunistic over the past two tournaments, and Vasilevski made some awesome saves against Canada …. Just watch the game …

-          The NHL is full on again, and the standings are starting to see some corrections …. For example, the Kings now lead the Pacific Division, and sit as the third seed in the West. Thank You Darryl Sutter. It needs to be said that the Kings would sit in the eight seed if not for leading their division, but it looks like the spot most thought the Kings would occupy …. Minnesota have fallen down the standings, as have the Leaves … Detroit lead the league in wins, and Vancouver have moved into second spot in the West, though that also needs an asterisk, as they have played 5 more games than San Jose …. The fact that the number of games played by teams can vary so much at times during the year really throws a kink into the standings, one that is rarely mentioned by sportscasters …

-          Tough year for the Columbus Blue Jackets to be a frontrunner to pick first overall …of course, the Ducks are taking a run at that honor as well … anyway, the Jackets have not had any luck with high first round picks and Russian players. Think Nikita Filatov and  Nikolai Zherdev …. So this year, the consensus top pick is thought to be Russian Nail Yakupov …. A few things on Yakupov, namely that he came to Canada to play in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting, and his agent is Igor Larionov … Are those signs of commitment to success and professionalism … Larionov was the consummate pro during his time in the NHL, and deserves respect as an agent for a number of reasons -  he played on several teams without causing a fuss, and he came from a vastly different background than players and most agents come from, namely communist / big brother-style Soviet society … maybe Yakupov starts a new trend for Russian players in how they prepare for a shot at the NHL … maybe the Blue Jackets finally get the smooth Russian ace they have been looking for …

-          Just when it looked like Tampa were ready to make a charge up the standings, and the Leafs were in free-fall mode, Toronto lay a dirty lickin’ on the Lightning, 7-3, in Toronto, before the screaming Leaf supporters … Joffrey Lupul put up another handful of points to stay amongst the elite of the scoring race … the Leaves had 42 shots on goal !! .. what a downer of a year for Tampa ….

-          Another WJC note …. Does the IIHF not realize that by putting the English spelling on the Finnish jerseys, they are robbing the game of some of its mystique and the exotic nature of an international event ? Hey, if you have been following hockey for any period of time, you know what Suomi means …. If you don’t know, you will figure it out …. They don’t need to put Finland on the jerseys …. I have never seen Canada or USA spelled on the jerseys in Czech or Russian …. Basically, don’t worry about sucking up to the North American audience too much. We aren’t complete zombies …. Love the Russian jersey, with the Gold Eagle and Russian spelling, classic …

Jan 2

-          Winter Classic  …   Rangers 3 Philly 2 …. The thought remaining at the end of the day concerning the Flyers is this : They continue to fail on the big stage, when the spotlight is squarely on them. They succeeded early as a franchise, the first expansion team to win a Stanley Cup, winning back to back titles as the Broad Street Bullies in 1974 and 1975. Since then, though, they are 0 for six in Stanley Cup Final appearances, and have lost both Winter Classic games they have played in …. Yesterday, Hank Lundquist and his huge equipment stymied the Flyers, while in the Philly net, Sergei Bobrovsky was mediocre. On the bench sat their big dollar goalie, who they have not been able to rely on for wins ….. Now Mike Rupp, there is a guy who has good timing for big games, 2 goals on the big stage, much like his Stanley Cup play for the New Jersey Devils back in the day …

-          It has to be acknowledged that Brad Richards has had a positive impact on the Rangers …. The team is playing pretty decent hockey as a whole, so it isn’t that Richards turned the team around on his own. He is doing his thing, and that included scoring the winning goal in the Winter Classic ….

-          John Tortorella definitely suffers from a persecution complex …. He is right, the reffing is horrible in the NHL. It isn’t always against him though, in fact not very often do the Rangers get the shaft …..

-          Interesting that Kyle Turris is admitting the demand for a huge contract was a ploy …. And good for him to admit a mistake, something the NHLPA would not approve of ….If Turris really wants fresh start, canning his poor excuse of an agent would be a good start. Follow that with serious effort and a squeaky clean image for a few years, and he might be forgiven by hardcore fans that don’t care for the sense of entitlement many modern athletes brandish …

-          Stunning win by Russia over the Czech Republic in WJC action …. A barnburner of a game, ended in overtime …. The Russian`s are going through a similar issue to what ruined the American team : big names not producing …. Nail Yakupov and Evgeni Kuznetsov have not had an impact, aside from Kuznetsov`s 9 point outing against Latvia …. At least the Russian`s can be happy about moving on … look at it this way – if these two don`t get going, they will wear goat horns. If they do get going, Team Canada will have their hands full  ….

-          Some interesting officiating in the Slovakia – Finalnd game, with a very questionable ejection basically handcuffing the Slovaks in the late stages of the game …. Finland won this game ugly, 8-5, to set up a classic Scandinavian battle with the Swedes. Mikael Granlund finally had an impact in the tournament …  The Slovaks never quit, and losing Matus Chovan late in the game to a poor penalty hurt their efforts to rally ….. Anyway, the stage is set for the Finns to play the big, determined and skilled Swedish team …. Look for the Swedes to win this contest easily ….

-          If Elliotte Friedman says the Wings will host the Winter Classic next year, and play the Maple Leafs, then it is likely the plan …. Listened to some debate on the issue on a Sportsnet channel as well, pondering the venue …. It would be awesome to see 115,000 fans take in a game in Michigan. Hopefully the powers that be see it that way …

-          Interesting what has played out with goaltenders this year  … Brian Elliott looks All World, Ilya Bryzgalov has been hot and very cold in Philly, Dwayne Roloson is getting slammed by everyone, and can`t stop a beachball in Tampa, Ray Emery is Chicago`s best goalie, Marty Brodeur has been hit and miss for the Devils while Johan Hedberg has been fairly good, and what looked to be a huge coup for Washington, signing Tomas Vokoun, has not worked out …. Watching James Reimer struggle lately for Toronto is not exactly surprising, but one had kind of hoped he would have some long term success, for his sake, and the sake of the Leaves …. The demise of Ryan Miller has been in almost exact correlation with how far he opens his mouth, and how much he whines and cries … Mike Smith has been a legit starter in Phoenix ….

-          Of note are the teams Steve Yzerman mentions as the top teams in the Eastern Conference … he has Boston at the top of the heap, followed by the Rangers and Flyers. After that, he lumps everyone together ….

-          One player that was much ballyhooed coming into the year was Brayden Schenn, uber-prospect for the Flyers, late of the Los Angeles Kings, via the Mike Richards trade …. Schenn finally notched his first NHL goal, in the Winter Classic …. The versatile forward has been held back by injuries and the salary cap. Lets see what he can do on the big stage for the rest of the year. He was a prolific scorer last year in junior hockey. The challenge will be to see if he can bring that level of offense to the NHL, or if he becomes as solid second or third line guy ….

-          Cody Hodgson suffered through a similar year for Vancouver last year, looked at as a bit of a disappointment, and a bit of a question mark. This year, Hodgson is emerging as a very solid NHL player …. Very similar path as Schenn leaving junior and heading into the NHL …. Very high expectations, Super Star performance as the World Junior Championship, then injuries and lacklustre play to start his NHL career …. Perseverance  would be the lesson here …

Dec 30

-          Stunning win by the Czechs, beating the USA 5-2, and ruining the American’s tournament … the story would be completed later in the evening with a Finnish win over the Danes, eliminating the US from medal contention …. For the Czechs, re-emergence as a legit entry . For the American team, a total disaster. The US had boasted incredible speed and star power during the past two tournaments, and this year was expected to be more of the same, and a shot at the Gold medal. Instead, the team will be qualified as a disappointment, and irrelevant …. Tough break for USA Hockey

-          Steven Stamkos has been hot, rekindling hope of having a 50 goal scorer in the NHL this year …a pure sniper. Coming out of junior, he didn’t have the fanfare that John Tavares  had, but Stamkos has enjoyed more success, and to be fair, Stamkos has played on a far better team, sharing the ice with superstars Martin St Louis and Vincent LeCavalier …. Tampa’s number 91 has such a presence on the ice, big body, great skater, and excellent sense of where to be in order to score goal after goal …

-          Marquee Matchup for December  30 …. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Wings, 3-2, on a late goal from Brent Seabrook …

Dec 28

-          A lot of excitement in Northlands Coliseum ( yes, that is what it is called by Open Ice Hitter. Fancy new corporate names every couple of years are not acknowledged ) for the Canada – Czech Republic game. In attendance was PM Harper, a huge hockey fan, with his son ….. seeing the Czech team live gives a real appreciation for the size of the team, very big kids, Team Canada had no edge physically on this team …. Things were a bit tense for a while when Canada was up 1-0 in the second period, with a definite edge to the crowd, well aware of the history of the Czechs and their ability to steal games … The second Canadian goal was followed by jubilant cheering  and relief, and after the Canadians took a 3-0 lead, the crowd relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the game, which Canada won 5-0 … Scott Wedgewood was very solid earning the shutout, making some big saves while the Czech`s still had a chance to win, and some good stops late in the game to preserve the shutout ….. Jonathan Huberdeau was not a gamebreaker on this night, but Mark Stone scored again …. Watching Stone live gives a totally different perspective to his play. He is a decent skater, though not the fastest guy on the ice. His skating will not hold him back. Compared to a guy like Jason Allison, Stone is a much better skater. He is also very good in his own end, and has a solid work ethic. Combined with his size, he has to be regarded as a high end prospect ….. the kid knows where to be in both ends, and what to do with the puck …. What the Czechs lack is a dominant player. No one set the tone, or came close to controlling the play …. Hopefully the Czechs can turn out a new generation of superstars, based on the amazing success of the Czech hockey program at the turn of the millennium …. Young kids from that era should be hitting the prime time soon ….

-          Los Angeles beat the Hawks 2-0 …. How is that for a Darryl Sutter impact ? It will be fun to see what this LA team does when they get motivated, and start to perform ….. Think of Sutter as hot fuel, aviation grade, for a hot rod, after it had been trying to run on stale bronze grade fuel …..  potential is there for some amazing performance …. Of course, the engine could also blow if it isn’t maintained and used properly, so this is going to be fun watching

Dec 27

-          NHL back in full swing now, too …. Winnipeg sit in 8^th spot in the East …. That is a story worth watching. Evander Kane is emerging as a force for the Jets …. Have to get to a game in Winnipeg, that city is pumped for the return of the Jets … Jets pump Colorado 4-1 …

-          St Louis manage to really turn things around after putting Ken Hitchcock behind the bench … they are playing well, sitting in one of the top 8 spots, and have the Wings down 2 – zip late in the second period …. Final score, 3-2 Detroit ….. that is typical Red Wing hockey, pulling out a win, finding a way to win …. For the Blues, how do they let that happen ?? It is not easy putting a loss to the Wings behind you, not a loss like that …

-          Bryz has been better than other Flyer goalies of the past few years, but he is still losing games he should win. Like the game in Tampa tonight. Here are the shots : Flyers 32  Lightning 16  Now the score : Lightning 5 Flyers 1 ???? Seriously …. Yeah, the Flyers need to bescoring one goal per ten shots, considering they have Giroux / Jagr / Hartnell ….but 5 goals on 16 shots ? That is a novice house league stat ….

-          Shea Weber on the shelf with a concussion …. Brutal year for the head injuries. Weber is such a rugged and powerful player, the idea of him being injured seems wrong. If it can happen to a behemoth like Lindros, though, it can happen to anyone …

-          Ducks and Capitals are still playing poorly, despite high profile coaching changes … the Ducks fall is easier to square than that of the Caps, who currently hold down the 11 seed in the East, far closer to a lottery pick than the President’s Trophy. That was not on any preseason prediction list ….. If the Caps continue to play poorly, players will be moved,  Alex Semin being a name to watch

-          Regarding the lingering issue of Steve Ott’s latest display of moronism, the incident with Peter Laviolette …. Ott is a plug. At some point he is likely to leave the Dallas organization, and at that point, we will find out his true value as a hockey player. Often when a player like him leaves the one team that thinks he is worth having on the ice, they bounce around, and soon find themselves out of the league …. Look what has happened to Ethan Moreau since leaving the Oilers … this has happened many times with marginal players, they ply their trade as 4^th line hacks with one team, and are exposed as soon as they pull on another jersey …

-          There ya go, Habs 6 Senators 2 ….. Randy Cunneyworth has a victory as bench boss in Montreal. Who knows how long he will have that job, but after all the bs he has been subjected to, good to see him get the win … Erik Cole has been stellar for the Habs to this point, giving them a big body presence. He has been strong, physical, and putting up numbers, breaking the idea that he was only good in Carolina … just what the Habs need. PK Subban made a few blunders defensively, but brings so much offense to the game, it is worth having him on the ice. He is an avid shooter, and a gambler, so the opponent has to pay attention to him …. Subban has a physical presence as well, which the Habs have lacked for years …

Dec 26

-          World Junior Championship action fires up today …. Awesome.  A great winter tradition for hockey fans …. Watching the up and coming hockey prospects with family and buddies, interspersed with some street hockey or basement hockey …can’t beat that …

-          Canada vs Finland : Heading into the tournament opener, Canada is a real question mark, yet still expected to challenge for a Gold medal …. So many unknowns on the team.  As the game unfolded though, Team Canada asserted themselves physically and were able to control the pace of the game, and were fairly smart with the puck, sporting a very effective power play. Finalnd fell apart, with the final score an embarrassing 8-1 in favour of Canada

-          Jonathan Huberdeau left his mark all over this game, showing why he was the third pick in the 2011 draft … Of all the players in this WJC tournament, Huberdeau may turn out to be the biggest offensive star in the NHL. Big and mobile, with amazing poise, Huberdeau has shown the ability to perfrom when the stakes are high, he was the most dominant player in this game

-          What a joy to watch WJC coverage without the annoying and geeky presence of Pierre Mcguire …. Thank you NBC for taking this gomer away from TSN !! For anyone who shares this sentiment, there is a good facebook group, “ I Hate Pierre Mcguire “….. don’t like to use the H-word, but that is how the group was named

-          Mark Stone looked good as the triggerman in the early going … the Brandon Wheat King has been enjoying a great year in the dub … for some of the kids who play in the WJC, it is the stage upon which they announce their presence as big time hockey talents. For others, it is their last hurrah before fading into a career as a minor league journeyman … Stone is a player who could go either way. Not a fast player, but knows how to score … firing three goals in his WJC debut ..

-          Solid game from Team Canada captain Jaden Schwartz …. A very cerebral player, Schwartz made nice moves with the puck, always seems to be in the right place

-          As for Finland’s big name, Mikael Granlund, for a player drafted in the first round in 2010, and touted as the best player not in the NHL, he was not overly impressive …. Best way to describe his afternoon would be to say he had an occasional presence … not good enough when your team is counting on you to lead them

-          It is important to note that this is the 4^th tournament in a row in which Team Canada enjoy sold out rinks backing them …. This will change for the next two tournaments. The tournament enjoys high attendance figures when played in Canada or near  the Canadian border, in Europe, attendance is sparse …. It would be good for everyone involved if the European venues could sell out, allowing a more neutral setting for the tournament, to dispel the notion that Canadian success is tied to home ice advantage …

-          Goal of the Night :  Ryan Strome was quiet until taking a pass just inside the Finn blueline, executing a slick toe drag to get himself open with a clear shot on the Finn goalie Jonathan Gibson, at which point he fired a wrist shot topcorner, to the blocker side … total hilite reel material …. On the play, Jonathan Huberdeau picked up his fourth point of the game …

-          Give credit to Team Canada goalie Mark Visentin, who turned in a solid effort in the tournament opening win, an 8-1 hammering of the Finns …Visentin wa porous in the third period of last year’s WJC final, an epic collapse against an opportunistic Russian squad …. He was also shaky in pre-tourney play coming into this year’s event …. He made some solid stops to backstop his team in Edmonton, and from there, the skaters took care of business …. Phoenix will watch their 2010 first rounder closely for the rest of the tournament ….

Dec 23

-          Sham shootout not so kind to Darryl Sutter in his second game, losing to the Sharks …. Sutter also checked in with the quote of the day, courtesy Rich Hammond at the LA Kings Insider ..

 “Just to put it on record, I don’t say who starting goalies are. This is not baseball.’’

-LA Kings coach Darryl Sutter

-          Bruins took apart the Florida Panthers in a bad way, 8-0 …. Brad Marchand picks up a hat trick and 2 assists. Bruins continue to look like worldbeaters …. Boston vs Chicago Stanley Cup matchup ?? Wouldn’t that be something to see …

-          Flyers have managed to avoid one of their old issues for much of the year, something that had plagued them over the past few years, namely outshooting opponents and still losing the game … they let it happen versus the Rangers though …. This was the setup game for the Winter Classic

-          Oh Oh …. The NHL Network breaks out a new guy, putting The Canadian Press reporter Chris Johnston on the air …. Thumbs down for name dropping Colin Crock Campbell …. Memo to Johnston : Campbell was a doofus as head of discipline, and was basically jeered out the door by fans and media …

-          Easy Ryder is having a decent year in Texas, up to 13 goals, and had a big night as the Stars beat Nashville …. These teams now sit 7^th and 8^th in the West …

-          A couple of zebra moments ….. the blind bat calling the game between Toronto and the Islanders really blew it in a stupid way when he called Lupul for roughing up John Tavares, and also put Tavares in the box for diving … Isles Assistant  coach Doug Weight went ballistic, for good reason, as Lupul basically mugged Tavares … nice call stripes, next time, open your eyes … the zebras also missed a goal in the Rangers – Flyers game, as Ruslan Fedotenko tipped a puck past Bryz, high into the net, though the blind bat standing there did not see it … video review got it right

-          Anyone who suggested Winnipeg would sit atop Washington in the standings at the Xmas break, speak up now ….

-          Former Everett Silvertip goalie Leland Irving gets his first win in the NHL as the Flames beat the Vancouver Faker-Divers …. The Flames took their time with Irving, letting him apprentice in the AHL for a while, as they tried to make Henrik Karlsson into a goalie. Karlsson is huge, and wears massive gear, but isn’t so good at stopping pucks … Irving had a successful career in the WHL, hats off for the victory against a hot Vancouver team …

Dec 22

-          One game with Darryl Sutter, one win for the LA Kings …yeah, it was in the sham shootout, but the Kings will take it. Mike Richards back in the lineup will help, and a game against the lowly Ducks doesn’t hurt …

-          Hit of the Night : Sabre behemoth Paul Gaustad steps into John Michael Liles, as the Leaf blueliner thought he could coast into the slot with his head down …. Gaustad destroyed the smallish Leaf d-man with a clean hit, leaving Liles sprawled on the ice in the Sabre slot ….

-          Montreal Canadiens are coming apart in every manner, getting shut out by the Jets, 4-0 …. The Habs can’t do anything right, and Carey Price with a soft game does not improve their chances … for Randy Cunneyworth, another loss will not help quiet the firestorm and foolishness coming from the hordes of bigots attacking him because he does not speak French … once again, the Montreal Canadiens are in the middle of a shameful and embarrassing situation due in large part to their fanbase ….. Hab fans are loud, making the Molson Arena the most lively rink in the league ….at times though, the passion gets out of hand, leading to situations like what Randy Cunneyworth is being subjected to … targeting Cunneyworth because he does not speak French is wrong. Call it what it is, don’t make excuses …. Bigotry and prejudice, exactly what many people in Quebec are paranoid of having happen to them … So why are they subjecting another person to the exact same treatment ???

-          Jordan Eberle leaves his mark all over the Oiler victory against Minnesota … 2 slick goals, and a dangerous offensive presence on the ice … Eberle is 15^th in league scoring, with the Nuge right behind him at 18^th ….. the Oil might not get into the playoffs this year, but the pieces are in place for this team to grow into a contender ….

-          Not looking good as far as the possibility of having any 50 goal scorers in the league this year …. A few players on pace to best the 40 goal mark, maybe hit 45 tallies … As far as 100 points, that is in reach of a couple of guys, as long as they stay healthy …Giroux and Malkin have been scoring at nearly a point and half per game pace, and can hit the Century mark, as long as they don’t miss any more games …. If the Sedin’s can plug away at 1.18 ppg, they will flirt with the 100 point mark …

-          Have to say what a solid job Brendan Shanahan has done as the executioner thus far, he has sat down players regardless of the logo on the front of the jersey, or the name on the back, and has done a great job of providing insight and reason …. The one guy he might want to sit down is Nik Kronwall of the Red Wings, though …. As loathed as Ryan Kesler is, he was correct to have a beef with Kronwall, as Kronwall launched himself and targeted Kesler high in the last Wings vs Faker-Divers game …. This is Kronwall’s trademark : Identify that a player has his head down and is coming up the boards, then step into the player, launching himself, with his skates clearly leaving the ice, and plant his shoulder high on the oncoming player, often making contact with the head …. Selanne spoke up on this last year, and he is right : For a league looking to reduce brain injuries, Kronwall is a dangerous player …

-          Love watching big Keith Aulie patrol the blueline for the Leaves … a massive frame, good mind for the game, and a good skater, that is Aulie. If the Leaves don’t want him as a regular player, he would be a good guy for another team to target …

-          Goal of the Night : Oilers Lennart Petrell tees up a slapshot from the top of the faceoff circle on the left wing side and blasts the biscuit past Wild goalie Nik Backstrom … looked like Brett Hull in the mid 90’s …. Okay, that is a stretch, but Petrell got the shot off quickly, for a shortie, helping out the Oil cause …..

-          Who is the next coach to get canned ? Guy Boucher has watched his Tampa team flop badly this season …. Can’t see Edmonton of Buffalo making changes, as Tom Renney has done a good job with the Oilers, and Ruff, the long tenured bench boss in Buffalo, has weathered several storms in the past.  If the Flames really fall off, Brent Sutter might be in trouble …. Maybe we don’t see anyone else fired from the coaching ranks until after the regular season ???

Dec 19

-          Have to go with the Bruins as the top squad in hockey right now …. Chicago look hot as well, but Beantown has better goaltending, not too discredit Ray Emery, but Tim Thomas has been elite over the past year and a half, and 3 out of the last 4 years, has been the class of goaltenders … Never hurts the Bruins case when they beat longtime Adams Division and Original Six rival Montreal …. As for the Hawks, have to credit Stan Bowman for adding grit, if they end up in a Stanley Cup Final against Boston, they won’t be pushed around …

-          In Vancouver, the Faker-Divers are starting to roll, and blitzed the Wild 4-0 to make a point versus the upstart Minnesota squad …. Vancouver is a team built for the regular season, and built for dough-headed refs …. It should surprise nobody that they are putting together some victories. Yes, it was joyous to watch them struggle early in the year, and if they happened to tank and miss the playoffs, many a hockey fan would take pleasure in the fact …. Key for this team : The playoffs. And first Chicago. If they pass that test this year, then again, the Bruins will be waiting, and Luongo’s head will be spinning …

-          Leafs sit in 7^th spot now, after dropping a game to the Kings …. Just saying … though Phil the Thrill has reclaimed his scoring leads in points and goals, aided by the fact that the guys who had been leading are injured ….

-          Goal of the Night : Jordan Eberle hammers a slapshot  past Jimmy Howard, a nice juicy rebound from a shot by the Nuge ….. Eberle is lethal from the slot, and had time to tee up a cannon …. One of the most underrated players in the league, and an absolute steal by the Oilers late in the first round of his draft  …. Some players just have that flair, a smoothness, that sets them apart from others. Eberle is one of those players …

Dec 18

-          Disgusting issue coming out of the province of Quebec right now, namely that Randy Cunneyworth doesn’t speak French …. To fully understand the level of ignorance and bigotry coming from those insisting that the Habs coach needs to speak French, lets put it this way … English-only speaking coaches, yes, Anglophones, have coached the Habs to 16 Stanley Cup victories, out of the 24 Cups the bleu, blanc et rouge have won ….What do Hab fans from other regions think about this ? Les Canadiens have a huge following across Canada. My bet is that many outside of Quebec don’t care if the coach only speaks gibberish, as long as he can win ….

-          Absolutely do not agree with any of the suggestions that interference to forechecking forwards is the answer to eliminating concussions and broken legs to defenseman ….. there are even some respected hockey names backing this idea, like Bob Clarke ….. look, there will always be unfortunate injuries in hockey, some unlucky and freak injuries, like the Claude Giroux knee to the head …. You want to eliminate the ugly things, like Kurtis Foster and Taylor Fedun breaking their legs ? Then when you have worms like a Kostytsin or Torrey Mitchell messing with a guy on a puck race, suspend him for 40 games, let the players know not to put each other in danger …. The whole idea of “ respect “ is questionable …. Some players have it, others don’t … It is a fast game, that is what makes it so great, the speed and the contact … having a defenceman tie up an oncoming forechecker is a step back towards clutch and grab hockey of the late 90’s … what the NHL need to do is have Brendan Shanahan straighten out the refs, have them call the rules as they are written. A forward takes 20 full strides and clobbers a d-man ? Charging. As it stands, right now, watching NHL games, a penalty could be called about every 15 seconds, but the refs have set the bar so low, they allow so much stick work, crosschecking, and interference, that they have gotten themselves into a situation where it is tough to call any penalty with any degree of integrity … call the rules as they appear in the book, and the game will clean itself up quickly …

-          Amazing fact thus far : 6 coaches have been canned to this point of the season, but Scott Arniel continues to run the Blue Jacket bench … What will be even more amazing is if he and Scott Howson are back running the Columbus entry next year …

-          Fight of the Night : Two regular players, Bryan Bickell and Cory Sarich, drop the mitts, after Bickell is run over by Sarich …. This is how it should be, regarding fighting in the NHL. Yes, it is dangerous, but having two actual legitimate players throwing down can be viewed as part of the game …. They really went at it, too …. Score it a draw, as each tagged the other with a few good shots ….

-          Not sure why the Flyers are still slated in the top spot in the East …. The Bruins have more wins, and the same amount of points, in the same amount of games ….it is about winning, isn’ it ?? By the way, the Bruins have an amazing + 47 goal differential … no one else is even close

-          Just like that, St Louis have the third best record in the West …. Ken Hitchcock is bringing some of that old Kamloops Blazer magic with him …. The old guys, Arnott and Langenbrunner, have helped the Blues, who really re-shaped the team, especially the defense, last year …

Dec 17

-          Love the Mike Babcock quote after Jacques Martin gets axed in Montreal ….

 “Everybody in today’s NHL - owners, management – thinks they have a team that can make the playoffs.”

 “I hate to break the news, but for some teams, it’s not true.”

-Mike Babcock, coach of the Detroit Red Wings on the firing of NHL coaches. Quotes are via Bob Duff

Babcock is awesome …. A breath of fresh air … you tell’em Mike

-          Interesting that the Habs would fire Martin now, especially after playing a decent game against the Conference leading Flyers … of course, the selection of Martin to coach a group of undersized softies was interesting at the time, but Bob Gainey made several eyebrow raising moves as GM in Montreal … since Pierre Gauthier took over for Gainey, he hasn’t exactly been Mr Astute himself …but he has added size and a bit of grit …too bad the Habs are also way down the list as far as skill goes, too …

-          Goal of the Night : Alex Burmistrov crosses the Duck blueline on the right wing, and as a left handed shot, zips a wrist shot toward the top corner, far side …. And finds the back of the net … a bit embarrassing for Dan Ellis, the Duck netminder of record, but still a nice shot from the skinny Jet …

-          Fight of the Night : Jody Shelley, the seldom used Flyer tough guy, decides to drop the mitts with Bruin captain Zdeno Chara …. Never a good idea to scrap Chara. Never. The guy has proven himself so many times …. Neither player unloaded any bombs, probably lucky for Shelley, but Chara kept peppering Shelley with jabs, before taking him down. Boston feature two of the most feared fighters in the league, Chara and Lucic, and both guys also happen to be elite players …

-          Goal of the Night 2 : Jordan Eberle ties Colin White in a not, waltzes in front of Anti Niemi, and cooly scores another hilite goal ….Eberle is so slick, so smart, and still underrated …. He set up The Nuge late in the game as well, for what would have been a big goal, but The Newf, Ryan Clowe, tied up The Nuge’s stick …

-          Ryan Miller has not been the same guy since Sid Crosby’s lit him up for the Gold Medal goal at the Olympics … Miller was terrible in an 8-3 loss to the Pens, allowing 3 goals on 7 shots to start the game against Pittsburgh. The frustration has been coming out verbally for Miller, who has taken the mantle as chief whiner in the NHL

-          Ugly game in Detroit, with the Kings giving incoming coach Darryl Sutter a ton of ammo to work with, following an 8-2 crushing at the hands of the Wings … brutal year for the Kings, Brutal. This team was expected to step up and dominate in the West. But they have been awful. What does Darryl Sutter do to wake these guys up ?

-          Marquee Matchup : It was supposed to be anyway … but the Bruins crushed the depleted Flyers, 6-0 … Chara picked up a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, and the Bruins basically humbled the Flyers … not even a close game. Big Lucic flattened Zac Rinaldo, and the only reason the blind bat zebras called a penalty is because it was Lucic, otherwise they wouldn’t have called anything that happens to RInaldo …. To his credit, Lucic was very honest about the hit being edgy. Rinaldo jumped right up. That is how you play it out from both sides. Vancouver Faker-Divers, and the worm Ryan Kesler, take note ….

-          Speaking of worms, Kyle Turris gets his wish, and is dealt from Phoenix to Ottawa … no pressure Kyle, but now you have even more to prove … Turris has brought a lot of attention to himself, and allowed himself to be tied to a goofy agent …. The Senators have a lot of young players in the lineup already ….. let`s see how this all plays out …

-          Where did Nazem Kadri go ?? According to Leaf fans and certain Toronto media, mostly TSN, Kadri would be a superstar by now … truth is, Kadri isn`t very strong, not a great skater, lacks a vision for the game ….maybe he can improve, but if Burke is smart, he will move him while some other GM`s still think he is a player … Joe Colbourne has been getting an opportunity with the Leaves, and the towering former Camrose Kodiak could be a player … that is not a good development for Kadri`s chances …

-          Really appreciate the job Brendan Shanahan has done as disciplinarian of the NHL …. Shanahan has taken a very professional approach, makes himself accountable via the video explanations, and deals with all offenders and teams. Such a huge improvement over the Colin Campbell era. Shanahan acknowledges that when dealing with a specific incident, two markets are likely to have unreasonable views, you can`t please everyone, but so far he has been excellent, hasn`t played favorites or targeted certain teams, which was a huge problem with Colin Campbell …

-          Great Hotstove on CBC HNIC last night …. No loudmouth Milbury ignorantly cutting off Eric Francis of Elliotte Friedman  …. Keep that jerk off of the air. If cbc could bring back Pierre LeBrun, the panel would be excellent …. You have, in Francis and Friedman, two guys that hear a lot of chatter, and offer it up with their thoughts on it. In Mad Mouth Milbury, you have a blabbermouth who has proven that he has no idea how to build a team, yet he does not care to listen to what anyone else has to say …. What a loser. Keep him off the telly …. Thumbs up to MacLean, Francis and Friedman for a solid segment of the Hotstove ….

-          Mike Neuvirth, wake up. Allowing that goal to the Avs is embarrassing for everyone, for the game … how can you call yourself a pro after that goal. All he had to do was pay attention .. A flick shot at the net, Neuvirth never saw it … the Caps lose, 2-1 …. His mates are likely choked after that … you think teammates don`t get mad at each other ? I have seen top players fistfight in dressing rooms, and on a losing team, not meeting expectations, you better believe tempers are short …

Dec 16

-          Goal of the Night : Have to go with the Tomas Vanek shot over the trapper of James Reimer, as Vanek allowed Reimer to drift away from the far side of the net, opening the top corner. Vanek is a true sniper, with great awareness on the ice …. He knew he had time in this instance, and waited for Reimer to give him an opening before burying the puck in the Leaves net ..

-          Speaking of the Leaves, they have fallen down the standings somewhat … this is a concern because Washington is behind them, and come April, the Capitals are likely to be in the top 8. Winnipeg also trail the leaves, and they are going to have some magic in Manitoba this spring … and Tampa could be only a goaltender trade or a coaching change away from turning things around …. So there are three teams for the Leafs to be eyeing in the rearview mirror … As far as teams in front of the Leaves dropping in the standings, the only club they can really expect to fall off is Florida …..again, not to be a total downer for Leaves fans, but how long can Joffrey Lupul keep playing like an All-Star ? Have to like Lupul, he has always put in an effort, always been an opportunistic scorer, and it is great that he is having a career year, but can he keep it up ? How long until Tim Connolly is injured and misses a significant chunk of the sesaon …. Good for Leaf fans if there is playoff hockey in the Big Smoke, just don’t be too heartbroken if they miss the dance, even with those cool retro late 60’s jerseys …..

-          Monster night from Jason Spezza, 2 goals and 2 assists, as the Sens  dump Pittsburgh … the Penguins have been finding the loss column a lot lately …. Spezza has been playing up to his potential again, as a scoring threat and difference maker … remember this is a player who was in the OHL at age 15, made the Team Canada WJC team at age 16, and had a run three years in the NHL where he posted up point totals of 90, 87, 92 …. Spezza has great vision and timing as a player, and a frame big enough to handle the NHL physicality …

-          Hit of the Night : Young Sabre d-man Brayden McNabb comes across the blueline and unloads on Toronto Maple Leaf hanger-on Nik Kulemin, sending the Leaf forward flying … a clean and well timed hit, definitely separated the soft Kulemin from the puck ….

-          Jersey really spanked Dallas, 6-3 …. The Stars gave young goalie Richard Bachman another start, but Bachman was not good in this game … Zach Parise is coming on in a big way for the Devils, but if the dynamic scoring star is smart, he will bolt in the summer for a new club. New Jersey made a huge mistake in signing Kovalchuk-Grossman, and Parise should look to Los Angeles or Colorado as a destination for a fresh start in July …

-          Absolutely love the suggestion from the Toronto Sun writer Chris Stevenson, where he daydreams about a playoff bound Winnipeg Jet team trading for Teemu Selanne, allowing the fans and Selanne to close out the Finnish Flash’s career where it started, in Manitoba …

-          Need to acknowledge the solid career of former Kamloops Blazer Scott Neidermeyer, who had his # 27 jersey retired in New Jersey …. Neidermeyer was known for his skating ability a composure, and winning … he won every top level hockey trophy possible … he insists it was luck, and luck played into it, but Neidermeyer was a great talent. I soured on him a bit for a few incidents, like the stick swinging at Peter Worrell’s head, but even so, he had a great career, and is headed directly to the HHOF ….

-     Good that Mad Mike Milbury is off the telly, but man, did he really have to go ballistic ?? Allegedly, you need to say in this incredibly litigious age, Milbury intervened in a dispute between his 12 year old kid, and an opponent, at a hockey game .... Milbury intervened physically, allegedly ..... what a loser, not only a loudmouth who is the proven worst GM in the history of the NHL, but also a bully as well, though we all new that much ... Note to cbc and nbc ... never, ever, bring the guy back, no matter what the outcome of these accusations from the 12 year old kids parents

Dec 15

-          Big news of the day, obviously, is the concussion issue ending Chris Pronger’s season, and possibly his career ….. the third high profile Flyer captain to have serious concussion issues. Pronger has had a great career, a Hall of Fame career, but didn’t seem ready to hang up his skates. At his age, and likely having suffered concussions in the past, you have to wonder if that is it for the big game controlling rearguard …

-          On that note …. Paul Holmgren should make another of his brash moves, and bring in Nashville captain Shea Weber … the Flyers defence has been suspect without Pronger, so if they need a franchise d-man, Weber would be the guy. Philly can deal Matt Carle, and if Holmgren can be shrewd ( which he hasn’t been for a while ), he could likely part with a second tier forward and a draft pick to land Weber … Why all the talk of Weber ? If he hasn’t re-signed in Nashville by now, after the arbitration thing, it indicates little desire for him to stay there. If he hits the freebie market, there is no way he goes back to Nashville. Detroit is the premium destination for free agents …. If Holmgren wants another huge presence on the blueline, he better get busy …

-          Last Flyers note for the day …. Interesting game against the Habs, with a depleted Flyers lineup taking the W …. For anyone who watched this game, especially Hab fans, the most notable change in this matchup was the Habs being able to play with the Flyers physically …. Yes, the Flyers changed their approach somewhat, losing Richards and Carcillo, two very physical players, and Jeff Carter, a big body presence …. But the Habs have beefed up, and it showed. PK Subban has a physical edge, Erik Cole doesn’t back down, Alex Yemelin is big, Pacoreitty likes the contact …. This team has added some bulk, and it is an improvement. As far as Tomas Kaberle, his shine will wear off quickly. He is not a gamebreaking player, but a softie …

-          Taylor Hall is back, with a two goal performance for the Oil, though they drop the decision to the Coyotes …. Hall is an electrifying player, who works very hard, has great skill, and plays every game like it might be his last …  if the Oil manage to claim a playoff spot, Edmonton will go nuts …

-          At one point, about 5 years ago, or something like that, the Nashville – Detroit matchup looked like it was going to be the new marquee bill in the Norris Division … that was a short lived illusion however …. Detroit has remained a power, and Nashville is always competitive … just not in the same class as the Wings. Watching Shea Weber score a pair against the Wings was pretty neat …. Thinking it could be his team next year …. The Predators took this game, getting another goal from Jordan Tootoo …. For those who don’t recall, Tootoo was a goalscoring threat in his days with the Brandon Wheat Kings ….

-          Another Vancouver Faker-Diver goes off … this time Kevin Bieksa … Bieksa actually has skill and grit, but looked like total goof in his ranting at the Hurricanes … Have to like the results Alain Vigneault gets from his club, but some change to the character of the team would make them more palatable to fans other than their diehard base …. An easy team to loathe, that is what the Faker-Divers are …

-          Darryl Sutter, just take the job in LA …. There is an agriculture and cattle industry in the Southern Cal area, so Sutter can work some cattle in his spare time if he misses the homestead of Viking, Alberta …. Those Kings need a change, a kick in the pants, anything, and Sutter would definitely deliver a wakeup call …. For anyone who hasn’t been in the Viking area, check it out …. Nice rolling hills, farmland, beautiful country …

-          Goal of the Night : Patrick Marleau scores a beaut, a top shelf wrist shot from the high slot, over the glove of Varlamov …. Just like the coach told you how to do it in peewee … pick a corner, line it up, flex the wrists and light the lamp ….  The Avs sit in 13^th spot in the West ….. time for a thorough housecleaning in that front office …

Dec 14

-          Playing the big, bad Bruins was a test for the Senators, but it did not end well … the Bruins won decisively , 5-2. Ottawa have fallen back into mediocrity, which is on par with their talent level … one comment on the Senators Nick Foligno : What a difference between his reaction to a knee on knee hit, and that of the ultra faker, Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Faker-Divers …. Foligno takes what looked to be a significant jolt to the hinge, but came back to play his typical rough edged game. Talking to reporters after the game, Foligno did not whine or play up the drama, but opined that he did not think McQuiad tried to maim him … Kesler and the Vancouver club could take some lessons, and grow up …

-          Fight of the Night : Bruins champ Milan Lucic goes with Senator bruiser Matt Carkner, heavies that also play a regular shift …. Good tilt, no decisive winner, both guys showing no fear of the other …

-          Chicago top the Wild in the sham shootout, thanks to a very ugly shootout goal from Taxi Kane … Kane’s goal looked like something you would see when a couple of ten year old kids are left to play hockey amongst themselves …. You have all day to dipsy doodle, with no one to check you, so you end up looking like a self absorbed daydreamer …. That is why the sham shootout needs to go …. On the other hand, it made up for a blown call by a daydreaming linesman, so maybe there is some justice that Chicago win on such a cheesy goal ….

-          Detroit will give Tomas Tatar some time in the big league …. For anyone not familiar with the slick skating and opportunistic Slovak player, lets put it this way : the Wings don’t rush guys into the NHL, but don’t be surprised if Tatar is there to stay. He is an outstanding player, very smart

Dec 13

-          A lot has happened in the past few days … not only is Sid Crosby back on the shelf after a rough game against David Krejci and the Boston Bruins, the league scoring leader, Claude Giroux, and the top goal scorer, Milan Michalek, are both sidelined with concussions … So what is going on with this ? Is the league being over cautious, or is the game that much rougher now ? If you watch footage of games in the 70’s, where very few players even wore helmets, the pace of the game is noticeably slower, and though fighting was common, the bodychecks and collisions were less severe. The players did not approach the physical aspect of the game with such reckless abandon. Knowledge of concussions, or brain injuries, even awareness of these issues, was not nearly at the level of today …. This is going to be a hard issue to get straight for the big collision sports leagues, the NHL, CFL and NFL ….

-          Shot of the Night : Sheldon Souray blasts Rangers poseur Henrik Lundquist with a trademark cannon from the point, stunning the Ranger goalie, even though Lundquist wears such big equipment that he looks like a lacrosse goalie …. Not sure where exactly Lundquist got stung, but the zebra eventually stopped play so the Ranger goalkeeper could get his bearings. The slow mow of Souray’s shot is wild, from the stick flex right through to the rising missile hammering Lundquist in the upper body …. Souray may be the most intimidating shooter in hockey. The best way to judge the impact when he tees up a shot is if you are watching him play live, in the arena, and seeing the reaction of the other players on the ice. When Souray cocks back the twig to unleash his patented cannon, everyone scrambles to get out of the way, or get some solid equipment in the line of fire …. He has everybody’s attention every time he shoots …

-          Brutal night for Washington goalie Tomas Vokoun, as the Flyers put 5 softies past him en route to an easy win against the Capitals … It is still early to be eating any words just yet, but the thought has entered a few minds, this one included, that maybe Vokoun is not the solid and capable goalie he was thought to have been …. Time will tell, and there is still a lot of hockey to be played, but the poor play of the Caps has raised a lot of questions this year, about Vokoun, Ovechkin, Green, Backstrom and Semin …. Just two years ago, the duo of Backstrom and Ovechkin was the envy of the league …. Now they are a headache for Dale Hunter to figure out …

-          One team that has had a brutal go of it when it comes to concussions is the Flyers. Currently, they have league scoring leader Claude Giroux on the shelf, elite defenseman Chris Pronger out with a sore brain, and elite prospect Brayden Coburn shelved with concussion issues ….. that is a huge hit for the current roster. This is also a team that lost two captains to concussions, Eric Lindros and Keith Primeau, while the team was a Stanley Cup contender. Primeau would never play again after a fairly innocent looking bump from Alexander Perezhogin ( the same guy that brained Garrett Stafford with his stick, yes ), and Lindros was never the same after a series of concussions in the late 90’s, punctuated by the famous and bone jarring train wreck courtesy Scott Stevens ….

-          Wicked rumours out of Los Angeles that the Kings are pursuing Darryl Sutter to coach the lethargic and ineffective Kings ….. wow, talking about bringing in a whip-cracker. Imagine the first conversation between Dustin Penner and Sutter, or some of the interesting motivational techniques Sutter might use on the underachieving King forward …. One issue bound to come up is Dustin Brown’s role with the team. Does he have a large enough presence to captain that team ? The Kings had massive expectations from everyone this year, and are a unanimous bust so far …. How about Sutter setting Drew Doughty straight ? What do they do with Ethan Moreau, a hard worker, but also not known to have the best judgement, and no scoring capablilities …..

-          Team Canada has set its roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship ( WJC ) in Calgary … this team has to be the favorite to win, as they are most years. After disappointing Silver medals the past two years, Canadian fans are ravenous for Gold. Look for Jaden Schwartz to emerge as a gamebreaker, and the offensive catalyst. Mark Scheifle and Tanner Pearson will be watched closely, and the tournament will be a huge test for Brett Connolly, an older veteran player – he will be expected to make a big impact, and if he doesn’t, will be a disappointment. Goaltending will be a question mark, as it has been a weakness for Canada the past two tournaments … If Jonathan Huberdeau can play, he should be a star, and become a household name. On the blueline, Brandon Gormley will be given the opportunity to play a big role ….

-          The NHL website is running a feature of players colliding with refs …. Ha ha, funny, funny …. How about getting two of the useless clowns off the ice ?? Always in the way, the zebra’s mess up as many calls as they get right … with modern technology,  the game would be better served by equipping two on ice officials with headsets, and having a team of two or three off ice officials communicating with them, watching the game from several angles on tv, to get the calls correct … it is a bit frustrating as a fan to know within seconds when a ref has blown a call, realizing that it likely won’t be corrected. The game is way too fast for an on ice official to have any chance of getting many calls correct, and we are talking anything from off sides to key goals …. As far as the goofy idea of a “ challenge “, well, reality tv is stupid, and so are challenges. We don’t need to create a little subplot within the game. Just get the calls right, which we now have the capability to do …

-          Love those Winnipeg Jets, hanging around a playoff spot … let’s see where they sit in early April. If the Jets can squeak into the playoffs, the Manitoba city will be on cloud 9 …. Last year, as the Atlanta Thrashers, the team absolute tanked in the second half of the year after looking to be a lock to get into the playoffs … this year, many  picked them for a doormat … it is hard not to cheer for the hard working Andrew Ladd, and his sidekicks, Big Buff and Evander Kane. Doesn’t hurt that Bryan Little is having a bounce back year either …

-          Detroit sitting in 4^th in the Western Conference, a point back of the BlackHawks, with a game in hand ….  Always in the mix, with the best GM in the league, and one of the best coaches … and a lot of room to make a move as far as money / roster goes …. Everybody mentions Shea Weber when the conversation turns to who Detroit might add …. This would be yet another coup for Ken Holland, and though it might not happen during the season, if Nashville don’t get the rough edged defenseman signed before July 1, the odds of Weber wearing Red and White next year are high …

Dec 9

-          Pierre Gauthier does it again, picking up an overpaid, overhyped slacker from another team, after the slacker signs a huge deal and flops in the previous city …. The Habs trade Jaroslav Spacek to the Hurricanes for Tomas Kaberle. Look for Kaberle on a power play with Scott Gomez, and when you see it, start laughing out loud and point at the nearest Habs fan … for Kaberle, this is his 4^th team in the past 10 months ….

-          Milan Michalek, and his re-emergence this year, has been a great story for the Ottawa Senators. When Michalek broke into the NHL with San Jose, he was billed as a speedy goal scorer, and looked capable of fulfilling that potential initially, before fading out of the spotlight and plugging away like a journeyman NHL player. Michalek has been great for Ottawa so far, with 18 goals …

-          The Capitals double up the Leaves, 4-2, on a good effort from Ovechkin and a big night from Big Money Wides, Dennis Wideman … Washington have put together a few good efforts, and picked up some wins, while the Leaves have been .500 over their last 10 games. The effort is still there for the Leafs…. Honestly, can they remain a top club for a full season with that lineup ?? Lupul is having a great year, as is Kessel, but can Lupul sustain his level of play for a full season ? Good for him if he can ….

-          With the Toronto Maple Leafs set to be purchased by communications giants, there could be another motive to get the franchise consistently in the win column …. The team has always made money, lots of it …. But a winning team would definitely help tv ratings and attract an even larger audience ….

-          Goal of the Night : Sam Gagner fires a one-timer past Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov after a crafty setup from The Nuge, where Hopkins made a couple of deft moves to fry the Colorado defenseman before sending a perfect pass the Gagner for the killshot ….

-          The Nuge sits in sixth spot in league scoring, Eberle is in 8^th …. Two very clever players … the Oil picked Eberle in the number 22 slot a few years back, as a player who could bring some offense. Eberle played in the dub on a horrible Regina Pats team, where he scored  a lot, but his real showcase as an amateur was the WJC, where in two appearances, he attained the status of clutch scorer and legend …. But in the NHL, playing with a cast of solid players, he has been phenomenal …. Top tier puck skills, vision and timing …..

-          Hit of the Night : Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov crushes Buffalo Sabre Corey Tropp with a devastating open ice shot as Tropp tried to move the puck into the Panther zone …. Perfect hit, shoulder into the torso, levelling the young Sabre ….

Dec 8

-          First place Minnesota Wild …. Beating the underachieving 10^th place LA Kings …. Did not see that call anywhere before the season. Heatley and Setoguchi are contributing, but not lighting the league on fire, both on pace for around 30 goals …. Something to be said for new coach Mike Yeo, an unknown to casual hockey fans before getting the job in Minnesota … If he keeps the Wild near the top of the West standings, he will be a Jack Adams nominee …

-          No Crosby for the Pens, and they lose to state rival Philly in a marquee matchup for first place in the East. The Flyers would hold off a 3^rd period surge for a 3-2 win …. Seeing the video of Crosby bumping with a Boston Bruin, fairly innocent contact from both players, a routine collision along the boards in a puck battle, and now having Crosby sit out a few games, the question that comes to mind is whether anyone has discussed a more passive approach to some situations with Crosby. He is a very intense player, and competes with all of his energy …. But bumping a guy in that situation might be something Crosby has to forego to prolong his career. He put up 12 points in 8 games, which is a 120 point clip for the year ….. hope he isn’t out long, but the concussion thing is scary … if little bumps are causing health problems, things don’t look good for Crosby

-          Very uncharacteristic elbow from Ville Leino, against his former team, too … but not a player that was on the roster during Leino’s tenure with the Flyers … he got his wing up on rookie Matt Read … chalk it up as an aberration on Leino’s part

-          Edmonton boast the bad dude of suspensions so far, with Andy Sutton being told to sit until Brendan Shanahan gets around to dealing with his latest transgression ….okay, that might be a bit misleading. Sutton is a physical player, he just happened to cross the line twice this year so far …. Shanahan has brought an unbiased approach to his job, a real change of policy from Colin Campbell, who played his favorites very publicly, and used little reason or sense in making decisions … As for Sutton, we shall see how long he is a spectator ….

-          Rough start to the year for Kyle Turris, 5 games, zero points …. Not exactly a Sid Crosby-like return to action …. Honestly, what was the kid thinking ? Horrible advice from his “ agent “ … regardless of what the relationship is like between Turris and the brass in Phoenix, he had to know he couldn’t force a trade ….

-          Seeing how the Ottawa Senators season goes between now and April will be interesting. Ottawa has played far better than expected to this point, and may save Bryan Murray’s job by doing so … the emergence of Erik Karlsson has been huge, and the players Murray brought in for depth have been solid