A18

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

Hello hockey fans! Another week has gone by and the goals, save and hits just keep coming. Almost a month into the season, we have seen some fantastic action already, with over 70 games left to play! Here are some of the highlights of this week in the NHL.

One out of nine isn't bad

The Leafs finally got their first victory of the season. Now Leaf "faithful" can stop howling for Ron Wilson's blood. Only ten points out of 8th place in the Eastern Conference and 73 games left, the Leafs could still win the President's Trophy, let alone make their first playoff appearance since before the lock-out. Ok, the league's best record is an extremely unlikely goal, but with Gustavsson playing well and Kessel's debut imminent, a little optimism couldn't hurt Leaf fans. Just don't expect there to be a Stanley Cup parade in June.

Seven games later"¦

Remember what I said about jumping the gun? Making boastful remarks about your team's early success? Giving up on your team for being 14th in the Conference after four games? Does this ring a bell? Well, if you are a fan of Boston, Carolina or Detroit, you are less than happy at where your teams start. But your high expectations may well still be met. If you are a fan of slow-starters like the Canucks or Oilers, then you have every reason to be optimistic, as both teams are slowly recovering from poor starts, with their records improving over .500. The bottom line is that it's an 82-game season. A lot can happen between here and April.

That's gotta hurt"¦

I have never had a hernia, but I understand it hurts quite a bit. Imagine two hernias, in the groin no less. That has to hurt. That exact injury will be keeping Philadelphia Flyers sniper Simon Gagne out for an undetermined amount of time, pending further observation. With surgery a strong possibility to repair what has been a reoccurring problem, a full season is all but ruled out for Gagne, who only played 25 games in 07-08 season due to a severe concussion.

The other most notable injury this week is Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk. In a contract year and in the midst of renewal negotiations, Kovalchuk suffered a broken bone in his foot.

While this does not put his value in serious jeopardy, it does give the prolific scorer less of a chance to wow any potential suitors in the off-season.

Another interesting note is Colorado's Peter Budaj coming down with the H1N1 virus. While he is not believed to be in any serious trouble, he will be out for the entire four-game road trip. In an odd coincidence, their next game is in Edmonton, where four players have already had battles with the flu. Mike Comrie, Ales Hemsky, Ladislav Smid and Gilbert Brule all got sick and recovered, though none of their cases were confirmed as H1N1.

Players to Watch

I imagine the people who are really into fantasy sports have to be wondering where Anze Kopitar came from. Who would have thought that he would have 21 points in 12 games? That puts him ahead of the likes of Ovechkin, Crosby and Malkin. It seems that linemates Ryan Smyth and Alexander Frolov are partly responsible for the success of Kopitar. Smyth and Frolov are also off to great starts.

The Kings are really racking up points all around, with five players among the top 30 in the league. I think the LA Kings' secret is out.

Two other surprises (for me at least) are Marian Gaborik and Dustin Penner. When Gaborik signed with the New York Rangers, I thought his better days were behind him. Something about the Rangers says "retirement home" to me. But he is on fire lately, and seems to have done well to get out of the Minnesota Wild's defensive style of play. Dustin Penner was a controversial RFA signing that at first seemed to blow up in Kevin Lowe's face. Upon joining the Oilers, he was out of shape, and seemed to not have the passion to put up the kind of number he had previously done ion Anaheim. But it seems that is all behind him now and he is ready to earn his sizeable salary.

Has anyone noticed that Sidney Crosby is having an off year? By his standards, he is only moderately productive.

This could be attributed to not having a set of highly skilled wingers to feed off. It seems inevitable that Penguins GM Ray Shero will have to find suitable playmates for Crosby, or move Evgeni Malkin to the wing in what would be the most fearsome duo in all of hockey.

Just a friendly reminder that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics are but a few months away. We'll take a good look at Canada's chances for Gold, as well as the other contenders in a future issue. Until next week!