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Archive for November, 2010

Caps trade Fleischmann to Avs for Hannan

Nov 30

Posted by Chris in News | 2 Comments

In an attempt to bolster their blue line, the Washington Capitals sent forward Tomas Fleischmann to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for veteran shut-down defenseman Scott Hannan.

Hannan, an 11-year veteran of the NHL, waived his no-trade clause to be sent to the Washington Capitals and should provide an immediate boost to their blue line as a shut-down defenseman against the opposition’s top talent.

“I’ve been counted on to be a defensive player and to kill penalties and to play against other teams’ top lines,” the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Hannan said, essentially listing the very things the Capitals have been seeking. “I’ll be put in a defensive role there; I don’t think I’ll change that up too much.”

This will be Hannan’s third NHL club after spending time with the San Jose Sharks and the Avalanche.

The 26-year-old Fleischmann has been the subject of trade talk for some time now. After a career season last year where he posted 23 goals and 28 assists in 69 games, Fleischmann started this season as the second line center for the Capitals but has been slow out of the gate with only four goals and 10 points for one of the league’s most potent offenses and has found himself sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch at points during this season. However, a change of scenery could do some good for Fleischmann, who spent five years with the Capitals.

“In Tomas we are acquiring a top-six forward who is only 26 years old,” said Avalanche GM Greg Sherman in a press release. “His addition will bolster our lineup immediately.”

Fleischmann could immediately see time on the wing of one of the top two lines in Colorado as the team is pretty much set at center with Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny centering the top two lines. If nothing else, Fleischman certainly provides the team with a bit more depth and more options on offense.

The Avalanche seemingly acquired a preemptive replacement for Hannan yesterday when they traded for defenseman Matt Hunwick from the Boston Bruins in exchange for minor leaguer Colby Cohen.

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Tuesday’s Take: Chris Pronger Rule

Nov 30

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | 6 Comments

There seems to be some buzz about Philadelphia Flyer’s Chris Pronger and the disallowed goal. The video can be seen here for your own review.

People are on two sides of the fence; it is a penalty or it is not a penalty. For those for it being called a penalty see Pronger’s actions as not playing the puck but intentionally interfering with the goalie. Those against it feel that the current rule book does not specifically state Pronger’s doings as wrong and therefore should not have been called.

The rule is as follows:

“An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play.”

For those who think it is not a rule are getting hung up on one minor detail:

“positions himself facing the opposition goaltender.”

Seriously? I know Philly fans are a bit dramatic in thinking Gary Bettman and the NHL are out to get them, however you have to acknowledge that Pronger intentionally waved his hand in the goaltender’s face to interfere with him. Yes this is not “facing” the goaltender, but it is a blatant improper interference with the goalie and not resembling a screen in any way.

Please hockey fans, and Philly fans especially, quit complaining about minor things that are so obviously a penalty.

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Bruins prepare for Marc Savard’s return

Nov 29

Posted by Chris in News | 2 Comments

It appears as if Marc Savard’s return to the Boston Bruins’ lineup is imminent and could happen as early as later this week when the Bruins take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday or the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. At this point, however, Savard’s return seems to hinder more on the Bruins’ ability to free up cap space than Savard’s health.

With the Bruins right up against the salary cap, the team needs to move several millions of dollars in order to fit Savard and his $4 million cap hit under the salary cap. The Bruins made the first step to free up cap space today by sending defenseman Matt Hunwick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for prospect Colby Cohen. By moving Hunwick, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, the Bruins free up $1.45 million in much-needed salary cap space. Cohen will immediately be sent to Boston’s AHL affiliate.

More moves could be on the horizon for Boston as they still need to move roughly $3 million in salary before Savard can return to the lineup from long-term injured reserve. One likely candidate on the move is winger Michael Ryder. Rumors have swirled for some time that Boston GM Peter Chiarelli wants to move Ryder before the end of the season when he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Ryder’s $4 million cap hit would give Boston just enough room to reactive Savard. Blake Wheeler and Daniel Paille are also reportedly being shopped by Chiarelli with Phoenix and Toronto possibly interested in making deals. Chiarelly has also indicated that he has no problem stashing away talent in the minor leagues if the team is desperate for cap space.

Savard, who has been out of the lineup all season after developing post-concussion symptoms stemming from a blind-side hit by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke last March, has been skating for weeks and was just last week cleared to participate in full-contact drills in practice with no ill-effects. According to both Savard and the Bruins, the timetable for Savard’s return is “December” with no real date set. However, Savard appears to be progressing quickly and could return as soon as the Bruins make the necessary moves.

Boston winger Marco Sturm is also progressing steadily and working toward a comeback sometime in the next few weeks leading to more speculation that the Bruins are looking to clear salary to accommodate Sturm’s return in the future as well as Savard’s imminent return.

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Hockey World Blog Power Rankings: December

Nov 29

Posted by Eddie in Power Rankings | No Comments

 Entering December, this is when most hockey fans start getting into the hockey mood. Baseball season has been over for a few weeks, college football has ended for most fan bases, and the weather is starting to get colder by the day. When comparing the rankings at the beginning of November compared to today’s rankings, Phoenix made the biggest jump as they leaped 14 places. The largest drop in the same time span was Los Angeles. No surprise they are both in the same division and separated by only one point in the standings.

Editor’s Note: Last Month’s 1-30 team ranking is shown to reflect raise/fall in power rankings over the course of November.

Rank Team Last Week Team Notes
1 WAS 6 In November, they were 10-0-2 in games where they scored a goal. Only two losses in month were when they were shutout on the road against Atlanta and New Jersey.
2 PIT 10 8-0-1 in last nine games. Can end month on solid note with victory tonight in Madison Square Garden.
3 DET 7 9-2-1 in the month of November, including 7-0-1 record at home. Ugly losses this month to Vancouver and Atlanta is what kept Red Wings from higher ranking.
4 MTL 4 Had four game win streak ended Saturday against Florida. Any team would take six out of eight points when playing four games in six nights.
5 PHI 8 This weekend wasn’t good for the Flyers. They may have the second-most points in the league but dropped this far down due to overtime losses to Calgary and New Jersey.
6 NYR 18 7-3 record in last ten games. Should they win tonight against Pittsburgh, they will end the entire month without a regulation loss and will be three points behind Philadelphia for division lead.
7 CBJ 14 Maybe they should retire the third-jersey that made debut this weekend against Detroit because the Red Wings won both games in home-and-home series where Columbus learned how far they are away from competing with Detroit. 8-2 road record is quite impressive though.
8 TB 1 They have to develop some kind of consistency, and that starts by having a regular goalie every night. Between November 17 and 24, they won five games in eight days. Their record the rest of the month: 1-6-2. The bright side is the win in that span was against Toronto, whom they will face Tuesday night.
9 DAL 13 The Stars have a 6-0-1 record in last seven home games. They have to improve road record as there is only a two-point separation between first place and last place in division standings.
10 PHX 24 Only Pittsburgh has a better record over last ten games than Phoenix. They have played their way back into a nightly musical chairs battle with Dallas and Los Angeles for division lead.
11 VAN 19 The Canucks have been up and down throughout the entire month. Schedule in December works in their favor, as they don’t have to travel into the eastern time zone until December 22-23 when they face Detroit and Columbus respectively.
12 CHI 5 Chicago has stayed in reach of Detroit despite playing a feast of road games due to the circus being at the United Center. Look for them to briefly take division lead this month as they have nine home games and Detroit plays on the road eight times.
13 COL 11  What was Chris Stewart thinking? Colorado’s leading scorer is out for a while after breaking his hand in a fight Saturday night. He has to realize once his name starts appearing on the score sheet often, let the enforcers on the fourth line do the fighting for him.
14 ATL 16 One of the hottest teams in the last two weeks of the month. They have beaten three of the top four teams in the power rankings (DET, WAS, and MTL) by a combined score of 13-1.
15 STL 3  The Blues have been outstanding at home this season. But they have fallen off the pace of the remainder of the division due to losing last five road games. Three of those loses were to division foes and they face Chicago on the road Wednesday night.
16 BOS 12  The Bruins are desperately needing the return of Marc Savard and Marco Sturm. They have lost three of last four games and have scored seven goals in that span. They have been getting chances, just aren’t putting the puck in the net.
17 LA 2 Kings coach Terry Murry has to start giving Jonathan Quick more starts and Jonathan Bernier less playing time due to his shaky play recently. Look for Bernier to start next late December against either San Jose or Philadelphia.
18 SJ 17 Injuries are hitting the Sharks at the wrong time as Detroit visits them this week. Nichol, Setoguchi, Wallin, and Huskins all went suffered injuries over the weekend.
19 MIN 21 Four of five losses this month were in blowout fashion. Could this be of concern for Wild fans?
20 ANA 27 The Ducks have a special player in Bobby Ryan. He recorded the franchises first hat trick Saturday night since he did so on January 8, 2009. He was also the third player to record multiple hat tricks in a Ducks uniform, joining franchise legends Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.
21 NSH 9  Five of last nine games for Nashville went to overtime. Six of those nine games have been at home. They have won only once of those six OT/shootout games, which is why they have fallen in the standings as of late.
22 OTT 26 The Senators are 2-5 in last seven games. They have what it takes to sneak into the playoffs, as they are only two points beghind Boston for eighth playoff spot.
23 BUF 29 Buffalo will go where Ryan Miller goes. With Miller in goal they are 7-6-2. With Patrick Lalime or Jhonas Enroth in goal they are 2-6-1.
24 CAR 22 The Hurricanes scored three power play goals against Boston, the best penalty killing team in the league. Could this be a sign of things to come on special teams?
25 FLA 25 The best thing the Panthers are doing right is that they are the least penalized team in the league. They have a total of 171 penalty minutes, with Detroit being second-fewest at 224.
26 CGY 15 Not very often do you see a team play five games in a seven-day span. All five games were on the road and it doesn’t get easier as they face Minnesota tonight at home.
27 TOR 20 November wasn’t kind to the Leafs as they went 3-7-2 during the month as well as losing J-S Giguere to injury. They have also failed to score multiple goals in a road game in last five tries, being outscored 16-2 in that span.
28 NJ 30 The Devils were the team who lost to the lowly Islanders Friday night. They haven’t won on the road since November 3 when they won at Chicago. Devils were 1-5 on the road and 4-1-1 at home in November.
29 EDM 28 This is a young team offensively. They will take their lumps now, but look for Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle to be entertaining to watch this season.
30 NYI 23 The 14-game winless streak is over. So the Islanders can look forward to getting hungry and winning multiple games when they face the Rangers this week.

NHL playoffs already in sight at quarter-season mark

Nov 28

Posted by Chris in News | No Comments

By the end of November when the U.S. Thanksgiving arrives, most teams have had time to mesh, time to get back into the grind of the long NHL season and teams and players have had ample time to learn new systems of play. By the end of November, every team in the NHL has played at least 20 games – something that coaches and players alike will tell you is a good point of reference for how a team will do in the long run of the season. In fact, with only one quarter of the NHL season gone, statistics show that most playoff spots have already been decided and if your team is currently outside looking in, you might be in for a long summer next year.

According to an analysis done by the Toronto Star that utilized NHL statistics dating back to 1993, 77.5 percent of the teams that hold a playoff spot at the U.S. Thanksgiving end up making the playoffs at the end of the season. Only 22.5 percent of the teams outside looking in at Thanksgiving make it back into the playoff fold.

The news gets worse for fans of teams like the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers. The analysis also found that 84 percent of the teams that had 17 points or fewer at the Thanksgiving holiday failed to make the postseason. Meanwhile, 89 percent of the teams that had 28 or more points at the same point in time made the playoffs. This statistic bodes well for teams like Columbus, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Washington, Philadelphia and Detroit.

Former NHL player Brendan Shanahan, who currently serves as the vice-president of hockey and business development for the NHL, broke down the stats and commented on the bleak outlook for teams currently outside the playoff picture.

“If you go into a third period leading the game, more often than not, you win that game,” said Shanahan.

But if you don’t have the lead, “it doesn’t mean you’re out of it. All you’re thinking about is winning. You’re not thinking about statistics. You’ve got to focus on that 22.5 per cent, that it can be me.”

With over 50 games still remaining in the regular season, there is still a lot of wiggle room for bubble teams to move in and out of contention before playoffs begin. In fact, only four points currently separate the 12th place Minnesota Wild from the 4th place Columbus Blue Jackets in the Western Conference.

“The teams that have gotten off to a good start are rewarded in some sense, with improving their odds,” said Shanahan. “It doesn’t mean the door is closed, it doesn’t mean they can rest, and it doesn’t mean the teams behind them are out.”

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Phoenix Coyotes Tops the Pacific Division

Nov 24

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | 1 Comment

As if you thought I would not touch on this topic?

The Phoenix Coyotes are now the new leader in the Pacific Division. With a record of 11-5-5 for 27 points, the team seems to have settled in. Things did not come easy though for the Coyotes as in the month of October they were a sad 3-4-3, 9 points out of a possible 20. Some were worried, even myself, that maybe the team was a fluke last year.

This is not the case as the team is currently on a tear with a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games played. Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is starting to regain form; 6 wins in a row. New addition Ray Whitney leads the team with 15 points, Wojtek Wolski is getting his scoring hands back and forwards Radim Vrbata and Lee Stempniak each have 13 points a piece and a +6/+5 rating.

The team is playing well and still has some room to grow. Youndg defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is still finding his way, forward Scottie Upshall has not been up to his normal scoring ways, and even captain Shane Doan has yet to lead the team as a captain should.

The Phoenix Coyotes are back on track and look to keep up their impressive streak of wins. The Pacific division is tough with the likes of the Los Angeles Kings and the slumping San Jose Sharks, but expect the Coyotes to contest for the top spot throughout the whole year. Come playoffs, the only thing these desert dogs have to worry about is not matching up against the Detroit Red Wings.

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Tuesday’s Take: b. Lee

Nov 23

Posted by EB in Soap Box | No Comments

Here at HockeyWorldBlog.com, we strive to bring some information that we feel you the reader will find valuable. Be it Eddie’s knowledge of all things hockey, Matt’s sneak peek of upcoming gear and equipment, Chris’ well written articles that makes the rest of our writing look like a 6th grade book report, or perhaps even my ruffling of feathers of the likes of Minnesota Wild fans. More importantly, all four of us look to interact with you the reader.

We are in our second year now at HWB and we value our audience, especially those who like sharing their opinions. One of those commenter have gone a miss and we are beginning to become a little worried. The name is b. Lee.

b. Lee was one of our very first active readers and commenter. As another one of our VIP readers and commenter mentioned, Tony A, we miss b. Lee’s ability to take any situation and turn it into the, well… put b. Lee’s own spin on it.

In a heart felt plea, in the most manly way of course, if anyone knows the whereabouts of b. Lee, please let b. Lee know we miss him/her.

So, readers know that at HWB we value your reading and comments. Be it here or on our Facebook page. And if you go a stray, like b. Lee, we may even write an article about you as well.

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Stamkos first to reach twenty goals

Nov 22

Posted by Chris in News | 3 Comments

It took Steve Stamkos until his 35th game of the season last year to score his 20th goal. By the end of the year, Stamkos finished in a tie with Sidney Crosby for the league-lead with 51 goals. This season, it only took Stamkos until his 21st game of the year to notch his 2oth goal of the season, which came tonight against the Boston Bruins as the Lightning skated to a 3-1 victory.

Stamkos currently leads all NHL players with 35 points. His 20 goals makes him tops in the league in total goals scored while Sidney Crosby and Alexander Semin are tied for the next highest goal total with 14 a piece with Rick Nash barely trailing with 13 goals on the season. Compared to Stamkos, Alexander Ovechkin and his 10 goals are barely on the radar.

Many hockey pundits are already predicting that Stamkos could be the first player since the early 1990′s to score 50 goals in 50 games. Brett Hull was the last player to officially accomplish that feat during the 1991-92 season when he scored 50 goals in his first 50 games of the season with the St. Louis Blues. Mario Lemieux tallied 50 goals in his first 48 games during the 1995-96 season, which was actually the team’s 72nd game, making him the last player to officially or unofficially accomplish the feat.

At this point, Stamkos is on pace to register over 70 goals this season – something that has not been accomplished since Teeamu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny both tallied 76 goals in the 1992-93 season. In fact, Alexander Ovechkin is the only person to score 60 or more goals in a single season in the past decade when he scored 65 in 2007-08.

Easton EQ50 Ice Hockey Skates

Nov 22

Posted by Matt in Gear | 1 Comment

Update 3/15/11: The brand new Easton EQ50 skates are available for pre-order now! They will only run $529.99, and will begin shipping on April 15th. Head over to Ice Warehouse to pre-order a pair.

Almost a year ago, we posted a preview of a new Easton skate called the EQ5, which despite being worn by NHL players such as Henrik Zetterberg, never made it to retail production. Well here we are a year later, and we’ve got a sneak peak at the new Easton EQ50 ice hockey skate.

Easton went back to the drawing board for this top end skate, and corrected some flaws from the EQ5. They also gave the skate a new look, going away from the gray and using a more traditional black boot, with an EQ50 graphic near the rear portion of the boot.

Easton EQ50 Ice Hockey Skates

The new Easton EQ50 Skates

The Easton EQ50 is a great looking skate. Hopefully we’ll see this guy hit retail store shelves sometime in the spring of 2011. Easton fans should definitely be excited for this release.

Check out the video below for a look at the Easton EQ50 skate, as well as more of Easton’s 2011 gear.

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Hockey World Blog Power Rankings: Week 6

Nov 22

Posted by Eddie in Power Rankings | 3 Comments

 Teams are nearing the end of the first quarter of the season. While you can’t win your division, make the playoffs, or win the Stanley Cup at this point of the season, you sure can lose it. And lose it quickly. The Islanders stood at 4-1-2 after beating Tampa October 21, and they have not won a game since. The Red Wings are like a diesel engine, give it time to warm up, and they will fire on all cylinders. Their only loss was at Vancouver, a team that has a 6-1-1 record at home this season. The musical chairs of holding the top spot in the rankings this week, let’s see if the Flyers can become the first team to return to the top spot of the rankings next week.

Editor’s Note: Next week will feature the monthly 30-team rankings.

Rank Team Last Week Team Notes
1 PHI 3 The Flyers and Lightning got a little head start on the All-Star game as they combined for 15 goals Thursday night- 14 of them in the first 40 minutes. Despite the loss, they bounced back and beat Washington in shootout two nights later.
2 DET 4 Finished two-week, six game home-stand with 5-0-1 record. That’s what separates the good teams from bad: protecting home ice. Road games at Atlanta and Columbus on tap this week before hosting Blue Jackets Sunday afternoon.
3 WAS 2 Despite not having a win since Wednesday, Capitals still have most points in NHL. Saturday’s shootout loss against Flyers was second time they failed to win at home this season.
4 LA 1 Los Angeles had a rough week. Started in San Jose, then back home, then fly to the east coast to play two days later. Expect them to bounce back this week against Ottawa and Montreal. After Wednesday, they don’t leave California until Dec. 13.
5 MTL 5 Continuing what I said last week, Carey Price has done nothing but surprise. He’s tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts. He also has not allowed four or more goals in regulation this season.
6 COL NR The Avalanche won all four games played this week. Wednesday they travel to Vancouver in a matchup that will either extend Colorado’s division lead or tie it.
       
25 OTT NR Ottawa hasn’t won a game when allowing three or more goals since Oct. 28. The offense didn’t do much last week either as they were out scored 17-4 in three losses. They host top goalie Jonathan Quick and Los Angeles tonight.
26 CAL 26 Tough collapse for the Flames Sunday afternoon at Detroit. They led 4-2 midway through the third period before allowing two goals to tie the game and another in overtime. It’s games like this that can either make the climb harder or get the team on a roll. They should get at least six points on remainder of east coast trip this week.
27 TOR 28 All season long it’s been goalie-by-committee. Now that J-S Giguere is out for a week or so, Jonas Gustavsson can play his way into a full-time starting role if he can steal games this week.
28 NJ 27 One coach in the division already got ax’ed this season. Could John MacLean be next? This week could figure that answer out as they have two top bottom-feeders (Calgary and NY Islanders) sandwiched between two top teams (Washington and Philadelphia)
29 EDM 29 Nikolai Khabiulin went on IR due to a groin injury. Opponents are looking forward to lighting the lamp several times against Martin Gerber and Devan Dubnyk as Chicago and Phoenix did. Interesting stat: they have more wins (3) on Sunday than the other six days combined (2).
30 NYI 30 They can make some kind of unwanted history this week. Should they fail to defeat Columbus and New Jersey in final two games of the month this week, they Islanders will have failed to record a win for the entire month. After yesterday’s overtime loss at Atlanta, they are 0-7-2 in November.

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