The biggest news of the day yesterday was the news that Crosby had been cleared for contact. That will have HUGE ramifications. Many were concerned that he would not come back until much later in the season and have much less of an effect. AS it stands right now, I can see Crosby coming back on either Oct 27 v the Islanders or Oct 29 @ Toronto. The biggest issue that I have with him coming back on the 27th is all of the bad blood from last season boiling over and them targeting Crosby again. If they wait until the 29th, they bring him back at the beginning of not only a road trip but a road trip that takes them out West. The last date that I see as a possibility is Nov 11 when they play Dallas at home. Best of luck Sid. Let’s hope (for the sake of every single one of my teams this season) that you come back and never look back.
Nystrom practiced with the Stars today and is expected to be in the lineup on Saturday. I don’t see him making a big impact. He was brought in to bring an edge to the game of the Stars and provide energy throughout the game. At 3-1-0, the Stars are off to a great start and hopefully this will help them continue that.
Senators looked HORRIBLE tonight. They started off well, taking the lead for the first time this season when Michalek scored on the Power Play but it went downhill from there until finally losing 7-1. Not sure if you can put everything on Anderson here. Watching the game, as good as Karlsson is, and he is on FIRE right now, he is a liability on the defensive side of the puck. But who on the Senators blueline is all that much better?
Highlighting the good real quick for Karlsson, in 4 games, he has 6 assists. 5 of those assists are on the PP. And to think that I tried to trade this guy to three different managers in the offseason and no one bit. Boy, thank god for small miracles. I’m happy to take the small +/- hit if it means I get this kind of production from him.
Martin Erat was placed on IR prior to Nashvilles home opener tonight. Reports indicate that it was not related to his back injury from last season but there is no timetable for his return. He will be out a minimum of 7 games.
As for the actual game, Nashville looked bad. They went down 3-0 in the first period and for a while, I thought that Pho was going to get the SO. Without Erat up front, the defense looked like they had no one to pass to. I love the depth on the blueline that Nashville has but without a true forward up front, Nashville could be in for a long season and have some explaining to do at the end of the season when Rinne and Suter become UFA’s
Shane Doan on the other hand had a great looking game. A goal and an assist in just under 18 minutes of ice time. He looks a lot better this year (5 points in 3 games) than at any point last year. If you have him, now would be a good time to sell high because I do not believe that he is going to be able to keep this up on this team without some help.
I was incredibly impressed with Vokoun tonight in the absence of Neuvirth. He held his own and answered a lot of questions after his shaky start to the season. 39 saves on 41 shots after coming off that horrible game? He definitely earned this victory.
Malkin came back like a man possessed tonight. He was all over the ice and imparting his will on those on the ice. Love to see this. Looks like his LBI was really not that bad. He looks primed for a BIG season. If you can still get him in your league, do so immediately. It is only a matter of time before his price goes sky high.
I think we are seeing the last of Bruce Boudreau on the bench for the Capitals. The team is just not responding to him anymore and there is WAY too much talent on this team to barely squeak by against a backup goalie in Brent Johnson. Not to take anything away from Brent Johnson but take the handcuffs off this team and let them play. 19 shots on a backup goalie when you have Backstrom, OV and Semin is just not even close to where you need to be BB.
Khabibulin looked solid against Minnesota last night. 34 saves in a shootout victory. I think he may have earned himself another start. Khabibulin has always thrived on competition. Is Dubyuk going to give him the competition that he needs to reach that next level.
Setoguchi with 6 sog tonight. But again, I’d like to point out, he had 3 hits. Like I said before, the more he hits, the better he plays. If he had gotten that 4th hit, maybe he would have scored on one of those 6 shots. LOL. Seriously though, he is in a very good place right now. Ride this hot streak but realize it will come to an end.
Heatley also chipped in with 4 sog. I think both these guys might be trying to prove a little something since they were traded from the Sharks. Good for them.
42 years young yesterday and the Islanders decided to give Roloson a birthday present. 4 goals in the first period was more than he ever could have asked for. Tampa left their gift of defense and puck control at the airport. Too bad for Rolo
The top line for the Islanders was Moulson-Tavares-Parenteau and they looked awesome. Tavares himself had 2 goals and 2 assists. I expect big things out of this line but I think this spells out a bad story for Okposo, especially those that were hoping that Okposo would play on the same line as Tavares. He did have an assist tonight and someone is going to get to play with Nino when he comes back but for right now, that top line is SOLID.
From what I saw of the Montreal/Calgary game, Montreal definitely had the better game. Montreal doubled up on hits, took quite a few more shots than Calgary and even won more faceoffs. And yet, Calgary still managed to pull it out because at the end of the night, the only stat that matters is the score.
From experience, I can tell you that Borque goes through hot streaks and ice cold streaks and apparently right now, he is on one of his hot streaks. Worth a pick up if he is on the waiver wire.
Broduer landed on his right shoulder during the game on Thursday. Broduer does expect to make the trip on Friday to Nashville but if you have an alternative, you might want to watch this one closely.
Schneider looked damn good in net tonight against the Red Wings despite being on the losing end of a 2-0 score. I’m sure no one wants to say there is a goalie controversy in Vancouver but one goalie is clearly playing better than the other. I’m not going to name names but if your name starts with an L, I would be looking over my shoulder a bit.
Havlet has been ruled out of the game against Anaheim on Friday. He still needs clearance to play but apparently, he does not need to actually be seen by the doctor but instead can be done remotely. To me, this means that he is VERY close to returning.
Niemi has not been ruled out. The Sharks will have three goalies on the plane to keep their options open.
Marleau skated today for the first time in three days and was not 100% but said the he will play on Friday. He still has some muscle aches so it will be interesting how he hold up to 3 games in 4 nights.
So there seems to be a bit of a situation in Philly. The fans there decided to boo the hockey fights cancer ad (posted below). Why would anyone boo a hockey fights cancer ad? Well the three spokemen are Toews (Beat Philly in the 2010 Stanley Cup finals), Ryan Miller (Divisional foe) and Sidney Crosby (Another divisional foe). I don’t blame the Philly fans. In fact, as my buddy was saying, that’s kinda cool. They are not booing the message people. They are so passionate about their team that they are booing any mention of anyone that gets in the way of their ultimate prize. In my opinion, we need more fans like this. Bravo Philly fans. Bravo
If you missed it, check out this fight. Asham DESTROYS Beagle. Hope Beagle gets well soon.
Lastly,
I LOVE this from the ducks blog
"Limited tickets are still available but the game Friday is expected to be a sellout. Some of
that is helped by a busload of Sharks fans coming down from the Bay Area but Carlyle is hoping
for an electric atmosphere at Honda Center."
Come ON Ducks fans. It’s 361 miles AND we have to sit in horrendous LA traffic to watch a game at YOUR house for YOUR season opener and we will STILL be louder than your building. I’ll be at the invasion. I’ll be wearing the Sharks jersey. And I can tell you there will be more than one busload there. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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