Evgeni Nabokov, G, NYI – start
Avoiding Islanders goalies may now officially be a thing of the past. Nabby has won six of his last seven starts, including a 1-0 shootout shutout against the Flyers on Tuesday. The punchless Canadiens could provide an even easier test on Thursday. Keep in mind that his value for the remainder of the season is very difficult to project. The Islanders may decide to trade him to a contender, who may employ him as a backup.

Continue reading "Pick Six: Thursday February 9"

Luke Schenn has a natural inclination to watch out for his kid brother Brayden.

And while that task would be a lot easier if both were on the same bench for the Philadelphia Flyers, that’s not quite the close proximity that Luke is thinking of right now. While gainfully employed by the Maple Leafs, there continues to be speculation Luke will somehow join Brayden in orange and black by the Feb. 27 trade deadline, if not elsewhere.

Something with the Leafs and Flyers was cooking a few weeks ago for forward James van Riemsdyk, before the Flyer winger suffered a concussion. He remains out of their lineup, while Philly is still looking for depth on defence after losing Chris Pronger.

For Thursday at least, the Schenns will be on opposite sides of the Wells Fargo Center. The six-foot, 200-pound Brayden’s place on the Flyers was unclear in the first meeting back in November.

“Knock on wood, he’s playing (regularly) there now and he’s healthy,” Luke said. “That’s good to see. I’m excited to be going down there and looking forward to having dinner with him (Wednesday night).”

continued

note 11:55pm, The original title was a human error by me, I had Toronto instead of Philadelphia.  Sorry for getting Leafs fans excited.

Perhaps it was a case of heavy road legs and slightly distracted brains given tomorrow’s “important announcements” at Comerica Park and Michigan Stadium, but the Wings managed to take seven penalties, blow a 2-0 lead, lose Danny Cleary to a lower-body injury (Mike Babcock said Cleary will have his cortisone shot tomorrow to alleviate the issues in his left knee, and Jan Mursak will play on Friday: edit/update MLive’s Ansar Khan is confirming this as well) on a hit by Ben Eager which so preoccupied the Wings that the Oilers were able to score on the resulting play…

But at home, anyway, when the Wings stagger, they dust themselves off, get right back up and slowly but steadily right their ship, and they earned their 18th straight home win because, as the gentleman in a commercial most of you are too young to remember used to say, “They earned it.”

Continue reading "Red Wings-Oilers quick take: brain cramps don’t impede Wings, who will be without Cleary for a bit"

Yakupov is the probable top pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.  He was the CHL Rookie of the Year last season with 101 points scored in 65 games.  So far this season he has 55 points in 29 games.  He has missed significant time due to injury.

Continue reading "Missing Other League All Star Games"

In the last photo, Richer is part of New Jersey’s Stanley Cup parade — he was the second leading scorer in the 1994-95 playoffs. He’s in a convertible with a cigar in his mouth and is giving Devils’ fans the thumbs up.

“I got it all,” agrees Richer. “Just ’til about four days after, I tried to kill myself.”

As a Canadiens’ fan who used to live in Montreal, I remember the glare of the media on Richer, and the shameful rumours and stories that were bandied about by members of the press on radio and television. As fans, we often forget that, despite the fame and fortune, these athletes are human beings.

Anyhow, my thoughts on a Wednesday evening, but a good little article that sums up Richer’s battle, and the battles of a few other names you may recognize.

Depression struggles

First game home after a long road trip is always one which is approached with caution.

The Wings certainly hope to get back to their winning ways and extend their home win streak to 18.

A good all-around game is what we are looking for and a fast start would be helpful too.

Continue reading "Going For 18"

“I’m playing tomorrow. Marty looked like he had some discomfort during the game. I don’t know if he’s good to go or not, but I’m told to play,” Hedberg said.“I’m playing tomorrow. Marty looked like he had some discomfort during the game. I don’t know if he’s good to go or not, but I’m told to play,” Hedberg said to Rich Chere of The Star-Ledger.

Pete DeBoer wasn’t as sure as Hedberg though.

“We haven’t made that decision yet,” DeBoer said. “We’ll talk to (Brodeur) tomorrow morning and we’ll make that call. That’s the plan. I don’t foresee why he couldn’t. I’m not concerned. He had a lot of work last night. He had a pretty taxing game. So we’re giving him the day off. I don’t foresee his injury keeping him out.”

The thought has at least crossed Shane Doan’s mind.

With the Phoenix Coyotes’ ownership situation still in limbo and unrestricted free agency staring him in the face, the veteran forward could be playing out his final season in the desert.

“Obviously, I’d be pretty naive to not think that way,” Doan said in a recent interview. “At the same time, everything is kind of focused on waiting to see how our team’s doing and what we’re doing and what’s going on with the ownership and different things. (I’ll) make a decision then I guess.

“But yeah, I’d be stupid not to be looking at (my options) and thinking about everything else.”

It’s the last place the 35-year-old wants to find himself in the twilight of his career.

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The Vancouver Canucks’ current ironman could see his streak come to an end.

Captain Henrik Sedin was not at the Exel Energy Center in Minnesota for Wednesday’s practice and was seen at the team’s hotel limping around in a large walking boot.

Sports writer Jason Botchford from the Vancouver Province tweeted that Sedin will have a CT scan done on the injured ankle in the Minnesota area this afternoon.

Sedin was injured in Tuesday’s win over the Nashville Predators, when a point shot by defenceman Kevin Klein struck him in the right ankle early in the first period.

Sedin dropped to the ice and had to be helped to the dressing room.

Continue reading "Devils and Rangers Start Game Off With A Bang"

...Here are the 10 NHLers most in need of a new playing home:

10. Mike Komisarek, Toronto
Komisarek’s stay in Toronto has been tumultuous to say the least, with the veteran defenseman often a healthy scratch when he wasn’t recuperating from a broken arm. He is under contract for two more years at $4.5 million per season, but if he can get away from the Toronto fishbowl, the 30-year-old still could salvage what was an above-average NHL career.

9. Paul Stastny, Colorado
He is on pace for a fifth-straight season of at least 20 goals and is Colorado’s second-leading point-getter, but Stastny also makes more money ($6.6 million a year) than anyone on the Avs roster and the sense is his development has stalled. He’s still only 26 and with just two years left on his contract after this season, he might benefit from playing elsewhere – and if they moved him, Colorado would benefit from the healthy trade return Stastny would bring.

8. Chris Stewart, St. Louis
A former member of the Avs who went to the Blues in the Erik Johnson/Kevin Shattenkirk blockbuster deal last year, Stewart is averaging third-liner minutes (16:13) and is a restricted free agent this summer. Just 24 years old, he is on pace for a 16-goal season – down from 28 last year – and almost certainly will entice a rival GM into thinking he can turn his game around in a new city.

read on

Who is the toughest goalie to beat in a shootout?

Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers 28%

Pekka Rinne, Predators 28%

Marc-Andre Fleury, Devils 8%

Ryan Miller, Sabres 7%

Tim Thomas, Bruins 5%

FAST FACTS

Lundqvist, who leads the NHL in save percentage (.939) won the All-Star Skills Competition, stopping six of seven shootout attempts…. The pick of a whopping 40% of players from his own Western Conference, Rinne ranks first among active goalies in career shootout save percentage (.784).... Fleury, just 20th in overall save percentage, leads the league with seven shootout wins…. In a similar poll on Facebook, Lundqvist filled the top slot with 31% of the votes, ahead of Thomas (30%), while Rinne tallied just (7%).

Based on 186 NHL players who responded to SI’s survey

It looks like it’s Ray Emery’s job to lose in the net. Emery (11-4-2) got his second straight start. He faced Giguere (12-9-2).  It is easy to blame the goalies - Hawks with 163 goals against, second worst in the West. Only Columbus is worse. But, last night’s game featured at least 7 odd man rushes for the Av’s with 5 or 6 of them being 2 on 1’s!  I don’t recall the Hawks having any.

The line ups were announced as 1) Shaw, Toews, Kane (which I liked but rarely saw).  2) Sharp, Bolland, Hossa 3) Kruger, Morrison, Stalberg 4) Brunette, Mayers, Frolik. For once, I was surprised NOT to see Bickell. I thought he had a pretty good previous game. Leddy continues to be paired up with Montador on the 3rd D-line.

Continue reading "Hawks Skid Continues"

The NHL will pay the University $3 million to rent the Big House and will require use of the stadium from Dec. 1, 2012 to mid-January, according to a communication to the regents from Athletic Director Dave Brandon and Timothy Slottow, the University’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. The Winter Classic game will take place on Jan. 1, 2013 and has an alternate date of Jan. 2, 2013.

During the meeting, Brandon said the NHL is expected to donate a “significant” amount to student scholarships at the University from its charitable foundation….

Brandon said he expects the event to draw in excess of $14 million in economic activity to Ann Arbor.Newman added that the economic boost is one of the key reasons the regents approved the lease.

“One of the factors that we discussed when considering this was the economic value to the city of Ann Arbor and the surrounding community and the goodness this would do for restaurants and hotels and shops and other activity in the area,” Newman said. “I think that at a time of year where it’s otherwise quiet, doing something like this makes a lot of sense.”

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