Fast Tube by Casper

Thanksgiving has come and gone and here is another issue of my weekly round up. I will have to admit with the holiday weekend, I have slipped a bit but here we go with some things that you have may of missed as you turned to football for the weekend or just simply slept your turkey dinner away.

Who is in, who is out?

Out for the next two games would be the Penguins Matt Cooke. Once again we see a cheap shot  and the NHL has responded properly by issuing Cooke a 2 game suspension for a high hit to the head on the Rangers Artem Anisimov. Cooke threw an elbow to Anisimov’s head and dislodged his helmet which to me was a total cheap shot as it was no where near the puck at the time.

The Avalanche have lost David Jones who torn his ACL  and will be out till late March. Colorado has been struggling of late and losing Jones will not help matters.

The Boston Bruins can’t catch a break in the injury department. Just 4 games after getting power forward Milan Lucic back in the line up, Lucic once again goes down for another 4 weeks as he has a high ankle sprain. Anyone in Boston that saw that injury live was thinking the worst as it appeared to be a knee injury at first. The B’s also got back Vezinar trophy winner, Tim Thomas on Saturday after missing 5 games. In that shootout win for the B’s, Patrice Bergeron rolled his right ankle and then took a slap shot off the leg. Bergeron missed Monday’s practice and there is no new if he will play their next game Wednesday against the Lightning.

The Chicago Blackhawks finally got what they were waiting for with Marian Hossa who made his debut on Wednesday. The red hot Hawks added had to have been on cloud 9 with Hossa’s two goals to what already appears to be a stacked line up.

New York Newsday is reporting that Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro will play in part of Bridgeport’s game in the AHL to start his road back to the NHL. GM Garth Snow is hoping to see Dipietro back with the Islanders by mid-December.

Black Friday killed some streaks

Like mentioned above, the Blackhawks are on fire as they rang up a 8 game winning streak before getting shut out Friday night by the Ducks and losing in a shoot out the next night to the Kings. Still at 8-1-1 and Hossa’s arrival, the Western Conference has reason to be worry.

Friday also killed Nashville’s 7 game winning streak as they lost to the Blues. The Predators are 8-2 in their last 10 and host one of the best road teams in the League as the Devils who have 10 wins on the road and are 7-2-1 in their last 10. Speaking of the Devils, they stopped the Bruins 4 game winning streak in a great battle of the goalies. Martin Brodeur also set another record as he passed Patrick Roy in all time minutes played.

Another southern team is also making some noise as the Atlanta Thrashers is riding a 3 game winning streak and 7-1-2 in the last 10 will host the Florida Panthers who are 5-2-3 but have lost the last 2.Even with all the injury issues the Bruins have had ,they have suddenly surged from 12th to 3rd  in the Eastern Conference by going 6-1-3 in the last 10.

The Carolina Hurricanes continue to struggle as they have lost their last 3 and are 3-5-2 in the last 10. The Canes are still without a win on the road will host the Avalanche who are 2-5-3 in their last ten games. Despite the recent slump of the Avalanche, they are still holding 4th in the West thanks to the great start they had at the beginning of the season.

Key Match-ups this week ahead

Tonight’s Pittsburg/Rangers game should be interesting as they play the back half of a home and home. Good thing for the Pens, the NHL suspended Cooke or this one could of gotten real ugly. The Penguins have a tough week as they face the Avalanche on Thursday and the Blackhawks on Saturday. Also tonight you have a battle of two hot teams as the Devils visit the Predators.

The Buffalo Sabres will try to leap frog over the Sen’s and Bruins to capture first place in the Northeast as they visit Toronto tonight as well.

The Bruins will have to beware of the set up game Wednesday night against the Bolts as they will visit Montreal for a Friday night battle against the Habs but more importantly the game that every Bruins fan has been waiting for as Phil Kessel makes his first appearance in the city he wanted to leave. I wouldn’t expect too many cheers for Kessel at the Garden Saturday night.

Ovechkin scored a goal in his return against the Rangers and the Caps haven’t won since, losing to the Habs on Thursday and handing the Leafs victory on Saturday. The Bruins will finally get Marc Savard back tonight as they visit the Blues in St.Louis.

The battle of the cellar dweller’s  played out pretty much how I expected it. Bad goal-tending  and a high scoring affair. The Bruins had some interest in this game and it wasn’t to see old friend Phil Kessel who by the way did not have one point in the 5 goals Toronto scored…still miss him? Anyways, the reason the Bruins have interest in the progress of Toronto is the repercussions of the Kessel trade. The Bruins own the Leafs first round draft pick and the way it is going right now, the B’s are looking at the number one pick overall.

On that note, the leafs go out on Saturday night against one of the best teams in the East and beats them in a shootout after a 1-1 tie. Some things don’t make any sense and that is one of them. Now we saw hockey’s version of a rally cap going on as the Leaf players wore their helmets  backwards on the bench during the shootout. And there was several thousand Leaf fans that attended their morning skate for support.

Streaks

One of the hottest teams in the NHL right now has been the Chicago Blackhawks who are riding a 7 game win streak and are 8-1-1 in their last 10. Rookie goaltender Antti Niemi stopped all 30 shots he faced Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks to get his first career shutout.

After a shaky start, the Nashville Predators have something working for them of  late as they are 8-2-0 in their last 10, winning the last 5.

Both the Sharks and Blue Jackets are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games. San Jose has found themselves first in the West thanks to their recent hot streak. Another team to watch for is the Detroit Red Wings who have picked up the pace lately going 7-2-1 in the last 10.

After stopping  New Jersey’s run for the road record at 9 games, Philly beat the Kings but has now lost the last 2 games. The Flyers’ are 7-3 in their last 10.

The Canes finally snapped their 14 game skid and have now won 3 of their last 4. Manny Legace has been holding the fort down for the injured Cam Ward. The Hurricanes and Maple Leafs have been playing a game of leap frog all season for the worst record in the East.

Home Sweet Home

There are 2 teams in the NHL that have not suffered a loss at home yet. The San Jose Sharks are 7-0-2 and the Lightning who are 5-0-4. Both teams are home on Wednesday night with the Sharks hosting the Blackhawks for a battle of the titans. Tampa Bay should have no problem keeping their record in tact as they host the Leafs. Carolina is the only team without a win on the road so far at 0-7-3.

Key Match-ups coming up this week

The game of the week is clearly on Wednesday night as the 2nd place Blackhawks visit the first place Sharks at the tank in a Western conference battle. As I mentioned before, San Jose has not lost a game at home yet. The Eastern Conference has a similar match up on Wednesday night when the 3rd place Sabres visit the 1st place Capitals in DC. Both teams have struggled a bit lately but any time you put a top scorer like Ovechkin facing  a top goaltender like Miller, you will be entertained.

Tonight you have the 3rd place Avalanche who have struggled of late hosting the Philadelphia Flyers who are 5th in the East. Friday, the Bruins have their annual noon time start and this year they face the 4th place leafs. With Savard and Lucic back, this will be a great battle.

Retired and Un-Retired

Brendan Shanahan Retired after 21 seasons in the NHL, you can read my article on Shanahan here. Peter Forsberg decided to stay in Sweden and influences Markus Naslund to come out of retirement  to team up together to play with Modo.

Streaks

The New Jersey Devils extended their road win record to 9-0 on Thursday night by beating the slumping Penguins 4-1. The Penguins had a streak of their own, losing 5 straight before Christmas coming early on Saturday night as Tim Thomas and the Bruins hand them a gift in OT.

Thrasher fans are loving the current 4 game win streak their team is on an they got a bonus with their star Ilya Kavalchuk that returned on Thursday.

Carolina fans may just boo their team right back to Hartford as they have a road record of their own…win-less so far. The Canes had dropped  7 in a row and were win-less in their last 14 at 0-10-4 before the Wild came to town on Sunday. It wasn’t pretty and the Canes tried to lose as they gave up leads of 3-0 and 4-1 eventually won in a shoot out. The Canes are just one point out of the cellar dweller title.

The leafs had a temporary boost with the return of Phil Kessel winning 2 out of the first 3 but since then, the Leafs are once again on another losing streak this time at 3 games. Kessel scored both goals Friday night as the Leafs lost to the Blackhawks 3-2 .

The Chicago Blackhawks are riding a 4 game winning streak and a 7 game win streak at home thanks to a comeback Sunday night against the San Jose Sharks. The Hawks were down 3-1 early in the second period before scoring two goals in the 2nd and the game winner a minute into OT. Although the Sharks lost, they haven’t lost in regulation in 13 games going 9-0-3 in their last 12.

Injury Bug

Cam Ward has been placed on IR which is just another blow to the Canes.

Doug Weight will miss 4 weeks for an upper body injury.

Capital’s Mike Knuble broke his finger when he crashed into Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding in the first period of he Cap’s 3-1 win on Friday night. Knuble will be out 3-4 weeks.

Back in action

Atlanta Thrashers captain, Ilya Kovalchuk returned on Thursday and impacted his team immediately by scoring a goal and having 2 helpers to lift the Thrashers over the Rangers 5-3. On Friday night, Ilya Kovalchuk’s had a two-goal, two-assist performance against the Los Angeles Kings  in a 7-0 win. Kovalchuk will still wear a walking cast for precautions after breaking a bone in his foot.

Roberto Luongo returned from his broken rib injury putting Andrew Raycroft back on the bench in Vancouver. Raycroft went 4-2 with a 2.00 GAA in the 6 games he filled in for Luongo.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere has returned from his groin strain and has fallen into a goalie controversy as Jonas Hiller has taken the #1 spot.

Milan Lucic started practicing with the Bruins on Thursday and is aiming a return against the Thrashers on Thursday night.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Marc Savard who will be a free agent at the end of the season will be signing an extension. Savard has been sidelined with a broken foot is looking to get back on skates next week, he is still about 2 weeks away from returning to the B’s line up.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere lost his first game back from a strained groin injury on Friday losing to Columbus 3-2 in a shoot out. Jonas Hiller also lost this weekend for the Ducks on Saturday night to the Red Wings 7-4. That should help that little goaltender controversy at the Pond.

Alex Ovechkin’s return over the weekend was postponed, look for him early this week, most likely against conference rival New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

On the Move

Michael Nylander decided to head to Moscow and play with the Red Army team after being placed on waivers at the begging of the week.

Peter Forsberg is still weighing out his option to stay in the Sweeden or entertain a pro contract from one of about 6 teams that are interested including the Bruins.

Milestone

Bruins Mark Recchi got his 900th career assist Tuesday night against the Penguins

Key Match-ups for the upcoming week

Obviously the game of the week is tonight as the New Jersey Devils go into Philly to face the Flyers. The Devils have a chance to tie the best road start of 10-0 that Buffalo currently owns if they can beat the Flyers and if they do, Thursday night in Nashville can be the record breaker when they face the Predators.

As if facing the Devils on Monday isn’t a tough enough task, The Flyers hit the road for three more games this week facing the Kings, Sharks and Coyotes.

The Capitals recent success has put them in a tie with New Jersey for the conference lead and they will be at MSG to face the Rangers who started out the season on fire before going -5-1 in their last 10.

Although this is not a marquee game it is worth mentioning. The Leafs visit Carolina in a battle of the cellar dwellers, attendance should be somewhere around a dozen people to watch this sleeper.

The 36 year old net minder was brought up to the Canes for the injured Cam Ward who will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a leg laceration suffered over the weekend. Ward is expected to be released from the hospital today. Legace  has an NHL career record of 177-92-36 and last saw action in a St.Louis Blues Jersey in the 2008-2009 season.

Vancouver Canucks goalie, Roberto Luongo was expected to return on Tuesday when the team faces the Blues but has been hit with the flu and may miss practice today. The team feels it is just the seasonal flu and not the H1N1 at this time. Luongo has been out of action with a rib injury.

Warm weather not good for the Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins went into the week with a 7-0 record on the road and the LA Kings took care of that Thursday night by scoring 4 unanswered goals in the third period as they went on to a 5-2 Victory. The Stanley Cup champs then went into San Jose Saturday night to a place they haven’t won at since October 22,1997.  Evgeni Nabokov made sure that San Jose kept that choke hold on the Pens by stopping all 27 shots and shutting them out 5-0. Sidney Crosby has been held point-less in the last 4 games.

To add insult to injury well in this case vise versa, the Pens lost Defensman Kris Letang in the first period as he was favoring his right arm area. that add to the list of key players the Pens are already missing…Evgini Malkin, Sergi Gonchar, Tyler Kennedy and Max Talbot.

Washington is feeling the Pens pain as Ovechkin is listed week to week instead of the day to day that was originally expected.

Devils are heating up

Saturday night the New Jersey Devils beat Ottawa 3-2 to boost their road record to 8-0. Martin Brodeur celebrated his 1000th victory as the Devils are now chasing the NHL record 10-0  on the road that Buffalo set in the 2006-2007 season.

New Cellar Dwellars

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been mopping up the cellar most of the season and with the help of Phil Kessel, they have climbed out of the cellar by winning the last 2 games including knocking off the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes continue to have the worst start since their move some years ago with a 2-11-3 record including a current 6 game losing streak. Goaltender Cam Ward who has been mentioned in trade rumors, suffered a leg laceration Saturday night when Columbus Blue Jacket forward Rick Nash caught him with a skate. Ward spent Saturday night in the hospital as he needed stitches. He is expected to be released Monday and will miss 3-4 weeks.

Looking for a new home

Capitals, Michael Nylander was placed on waivers late last week and will clear waivers Monday at noon meaning if he is not picked up by another team, the Caps can send him, lend him or move him. Nylander has agreed to waive his no movement clause and is currently making 4.875 million.

Key match-ups in the up coming week

The New Jersey Devils are hosting the Ducks Wednesday night to try to extend the 5 game winning streak they are on and then visit Pittsburgh on Thursday night and try to extend their road record to 9-0. The Devils will  also host the Caps on Saturday night.

Toronto will go for their 3rd straight win on Tuesday night against the last place Minnesota Wild

San Jose had their 6 game winning streak come to an end in the motor city against the Red Wings which extended the Wings winning streak to 3 games. Chris Osgood who’s name was being tossed around just last week in trade rumors made 33 saves against the Sharks. Osgood in the last 3 games had given up just 2 goals with a shut out against the Bruins, he is now 6-2-2 this season.

The Florida Panthers have climbed out of the cellar and are riding a 3 game win streak. They host the Washington Capitals with out superstar Alex Ovechkin for the weekend with a left shoulder injury.

Down in Carolina, we have a battle of the cellar dwellers. The Hurricanes out to a horrendous start at 2-9-3 have been mentioned numerous times on the internet about players on the trading block, most mentioned is Ray Whitney but again these are rumors.The Canes on a 4 game skid need a confidence builder, tonight would be the night when the Maple Leafs come to town. Toronto riding yet another losing streak currently at 4 got back their superstar Phil Kessel the other night but still lost to Tampa Bay. One has to think why did Kessel want to leave Boston?