November 15, 2011

Devils @ Bruins

Johan Hedberg had one hell of a game before Benoit Pouliot hit a floundering puck past his blocker late in the third. This isn't to snub Tim Thomas of his performance because it was great battle. It concerns me however that both Devil goalies are at least 38. Who comes next: someone from the farm or a free agent?

Patrice Bergeron made some disgusting passes in the tilt. Not only can he set up his teammates, but he is one of the premiere two-way centers in this league, and has been for a while. I think when Alexandre Burrows bit him in last year's Finals, he was just trying to taste greatness.

Chris Kelly is an assistant captain? Nice. It's refreshing to see a player rewarded for working hard.

Coyotes @ Maple Leafs

Phil Kessel is very fast and won't stop scoring goals. Nikolai Kulemin sets him up perfectly with a shot specifically taken for an empty net rebound.

Ben Scrivens had a pretty decent game, but early goals are often hard to overcome. Luckily, the team battled back and at least recovered a point. Marty Turco rumblings make Toronto's goalie situation all the more intriguing.

My apologies to Mike Smith who I thought would flounder this season. He is now 8-2-3 with a 2.19 GAA. I know Ilya Bryzgalov is a fantastic goalie, as is Smith, but when you look over the roster one can't help but believe they play a strong team game. They are now tied for 4th in the Western Conference. NBD.

Shane Doan is the archetype of a strong leader and has been for this club, well....forever.

Patrick O'Sullivan must watch footage of Mike Ribiero and Martin St. Louis.

Rangers @ Islanders

Hey Josh Bailey, you HAVE TO get the puck out of the zone at that stage of a game. Other wise, this happens.

The Islanders are 1-7-3 in their last 11 games. If there's any bright side, it's that Johnny T. is still playing great hockey. His pass to Matt Moulson to tie the game was ridiculous. It got past a pretty good defenseman in Dan Girardi too.

Speaking of awesome passes, Ryan Callahan set up Steve Eminger for a nice squeaker of a goal. He did this while fending off a defender. I guess that's easy.

Henrik Lundqvist is still The King. 

Wild @ Blue Jackets

Nicklas Backstrom continues to play at an elite level with 43 saves in this game and I'm excited for him. Don't look now, but he and the Wild are 2nd in the Western Conference. What?

At least someone on the Blue Jackets is trying. Antoine Vermette scored a sexy, shorthanded goal seven minutes into the game. After Mark Letestu made it 2-0, the Blue Jackets saw their lead erased in 20 seconds in the second period. This reminds me of something else. 

I'm still confused as to how the Jackets acquired Letestu for a 4th-round pick. Not many of those picks turn out so well.

Cal Clutterbuck has an awesome 'stache along with a game-winning snipe. 

Avalanche @ Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the best team in the league right now, both in points and in play. They were completely undeterred after leaving the 1st period down 3-1. 

Matt Duchene is quickly becoming one of the most valuable players to his club. Look at this goal! Oh yeah, Evgeni Malkin's game-winner was okay too. Wow! Is that it? Nope. Kris Letang scored a beauty as well.

James Neal has 12 goals in 18 games. That's a little better than the one in 20 last year I think.

Marc-Andre Fleury is 10-2-1 and has won seven of his last eight. Vezina?

Red Wings @ Blues

Did anyone think the starting goalie for the Blues would eventually be Brian Elliott? Me either. He's now 7-1-0 with a 1.43 GAA. Incredible. St. Louis now has the 6th lowest goals against per game. They finished 17th in that category last year.

The Detroit Red Wings were 0 for 6 on the power play including a 5-minute extra man in the first. All of this out of the Blues despite having one of the lowest ranked penalty kills in the league. Ken Hitchcock makes a difference.

The Blues also held the Wings to 22 shots. Impressive - considering the Wings take an average of almost 25 shots per game. 

Capitals @ Predators

Pekka Rinne is a big guy playing an even larger role for the Nashville Predators. It seemed as though 20 of his 39 saves were robberies with his glove. 

Although not on the winning side this time, Tomas Vokoun has been stellar for the Capitals. He currently sits at 8-3-0. I mention records with goalies more than anything because really, that's all that matters.

Martin Erat had an impeccable game, making terrific passes and putting one in the back of the net. He sprung Mike Fisher on a breakaway and set up the game-winning goal with a great move. It was a strong finish by Matt Halischuk. I wonder if Joel Ward let up a bit on this play.

Panthers @ Stars

Kari Lehtonen shows he's not superhuman and let's in a rare, six goals. Meanwhile, at the other end, Scott Clemmensen stops all 25 shots in his first game of the season. 

There were some nice goals this game:

- Tomas Fleischmann's danglesnipe.

- Jason Garrison's bomb. Again.

- Finally, a pretty passing play between Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss.

Stephen Weiss was a +6 as well. That's hard to do.

Senators @ Flames

The Ottawa Senators aren't doing incredibly well, but they've surely exceeded everyone's expectations thus far. Although his numbers won't turn any heads, Craig Anderson is a tremendously important piece of this organization. He almost always gives his team a chance to win. 

Bobby Butler nets a danglesnipe of his own and adds another for good measure.

In case you were wondering Calgary, Albert Einstein was a smart man. He defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It's time to shake up this roster and rebuild.