From Osgood, to "Osbad" to "Osgreat"

Titles don't get much cornier than that, but I feel the need to get a shout out to goaltender Chris Osgood. This guy was written off as Detroit's backup 'tender since he returned from the Blues (via free agency) for the 2005-2006 season. That season, he posted a 20-6-5 record with 2 shutouts but was limited to 32 games. The next year he was limited to 21 games and plagued with a hand injury and later a broken finger.

Now in 2007-2008 Dominik Hasek's injuries and slightly less-than-stellar play has made room for Osgood to step in and reclaim his old position as Detroit's starting goalie. He's earned that right by posting very impressive numbers so far this year: In 20 games he's gone 16-2-1 with 2 shutouts, a league best 1.73 GAA and a .929 save percentage, good for third best in the NHL.

Props to the Detroit Red Wings team as well, these guys have been the epitome of good hockey for a number of years. They make the goaltender's job an easy one.

In 2005-2006 Detroit was 4th in the league for shots against per game with 26.6. Last year they were tops with a mere 24.6, and now this year they are again head of the pack so far, with only 23.1 shots allowed per game. To put this in perspective, Buffalo is 15th with 28.5 shots allowed. Philly is 30th with 32.7 shots per game on average. You can imagine how much difference 9 shots per game might make.

This team is thriving like no other. Superior goaltending from Chris Osgood, along with the team's top scoring team at this point makes for an even scarier Red Wings team than we've seen in the past. But they're damn fun to watch.

Game of the Night: December 21st

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This Friday marked the return to Buffalo of former Sabres Daniel Briere and Martin Biron for the first time since they joined the Flyers. Their reunion did not turn out as they would have liked, as they fell to the home team 3-2.

This game was long anticipated, especially for Sabres fans such as myself. It's safe to say that the team has suffered from the losses of Briere and Drury, and Marty Biron has proven himself worthy of stepping out from behind Ryan Miller and assuming a starting role.

Just a year ago, Buffalo dominated the Flyers, winning 3 of the 4 matchups over the season, including a 9-1 blowout that cost Ken Hitchcock his job and caused Bobby Clarke to resign. This year, Philadelphia is much improved and I had severe doubts about the Sabres' ability to win this one. Thankfully a late effort by Jochen Hecht put my fears to rest.

Marty Biron made a terrific save about 12 minutes through the first, but Drew Stafford would open scoring late in the period after some great work by Campbell (isn't it great to have a defenseman that can skate like this guy?) to gain the zone.

The Flyers would respond in the second when a pass from Scott Hartnell found Jeff Carter at the Sabres' blue line and send him in alone. The puck bounced off Miller and into the net to tie the game. Joffrey Lupul would give the Flyers the lead after blasting in a rebound on the powerplay.

Early in the third period Kotalik would tally a powerplay goal of his own as he often does, by unleashing his howitzer of a slapshot. Jochen Hecht would finish off scoring with 2:51 left in the third when he was the first to reach the puck in a scramble for a rebound.

The Buffalo Sabres have been very mediocre in contrast to last year's masterful performance. Now I'm thankful for one more 5-game winning streak. Philly will have a chance to avenge their loss at home today (December 22nd).

On a side note, Sabres backup Jocelyn Thibault broke his nose while sitting on the bench. Yep...sitting on the bench. I couldn't find any information about how he accomplished this, but I'll update when I do.

Game of the Night: Did He Just Do That?

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We all know who the best of the best are in the NHL: Vinny Lecavalier, Jarome Iginla, Jaromir Jagr, and the like. We watch in awe at the continued development of young snipers like Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Rick Nash. We see these players shine at the highest level, and we either love them, or love to hate them for it.

Tonight, Minnesota was treated to one of those special nights where a dominant player showcases that skill with a rare and purely incredible performance. In a stunning 6-3 victory over the visitng New York Rangers, Marion Gaborik was involved in every Wild goal, scoring 5 of them, and assisting on the other. To shed light on this accomplishment, it's been 11 years since a player scored 5 times in a game. Sergei Fedorov did it in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals in December of 1996.

After falling behind 1-0 halfway through the first period, it quickly became Gaborik's show. Under three minutes after Michal Rozsival gave New York the lead, Marian went to work, scoring at the 13:33 mark in the first, and twice more early in the second period at 3:47 and 5:38. Martin Straka scored to make it a close game but the Wild would not let their superstar's performance go to waste. Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the game winner at 10:56 in the second period.

After Nigel Dawes made it a one goal game again by scoring at a bad angle after defenseman Martin Skoula fell in his own zone while carrying the puck, Gaborik went back to work scoring two more. His final, and perhaps most exciting goal came after he stole a pass from Chris Drury meant for Fedor Tyutin at the Wild blue line and bolted the other way on a breakaway, beating Henrik Lundvist high stick side.

The Rangers outshot the Wild by a fair margin, 35-22 (Gaborik accounted for 10 of those 22 shots. Yeah, it was just his night). Unfortunately for New York, Lundvist has been struggling of late and let in 6 goals on 18 shots. Backup Stephen Valiquette ended the game, making the final four stops in a losing effort. Josh Harding played between the pipes for the Wild, playing in relief of Niklas Backstrom who may still be suffering from the flu.

Keep on celebrating Marian, it was a hell of a game.

Chris Simon Update

Chris Simon has been dealt a 30 game suspension - longest in NHL history. In discussing the reasoning for this penalty, NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations (and finalist for longest title ever) Colin Campbell had this to say:

"When a player repeatedly evidences the lack of ability to control his actions and conducts himself in total disregard of the rules, as well the health and safety of other players on the ice, each subsequent incident is deserving of enhanced scrutiny and more severe discipline. This response serves not only the purpose of imposing appropriate punishment for the player involved, but also the purpose of deterring the player and all other players from engaging in similar conduct in the future..."

I don't think anyone can argue that the suspension is not well deserved. Chris Simon clearly did not learn any lessons from a recent 25 game suspension. I don't think an extra 5 games this time around is going to change Chris Simon's game, but I have to hope otherwise.

If you read this, let me know what you think of the suspension!

Another Blow to the NHL Enforcer's Image: A Cowardly Attack By Chris Simon

New York Islanders left wing Chris Simon shares an unenviable job with the likes of Mike Grier, Donald Brashear, Andrew Peters and others: that of enforcer. These men are there for a simple reason; they protect the stars and drop the gloves to defend teammates.

I don't have any problem with fighting in hockey. It can be a highly emotional game and tempers flare. Retribution for a cheap hit, or inspiration for teammates seems like reasonable reason to me for a mid-game bout.

Unfortunately every once in a while a player will give enforcers a bad reputation and give the media a reason to sensationalize the acts of a few and make generalizations. Arguably the most notable of which are Marty McSorley for his attack of Donald Brashear, and of course Todd Bertuzzi's ambush of Steve Moore. More recently Chris Simon's actions have caused him his second suspension in under a year.

Last season, Chris Simon smacked Ryan Hollweg in the face with his stick following a hard but clean check into the boards by Hollweg on Simon. For this malicious retaliation, Simon was suspended for 25 games, which carried into the first 5 games of this season. He hasn't learned his lesson yet as demonstrated by his recent actions on December 15th.

If you missed it, Jarko Ruutu was having a few words with Islanders forward Tim Jackman between the player benches when Simon tripped him from behind, then proceeded to step on his skate as he went to the bench (Videos are all over youtube, if there's a different perspective you'd like to share, feel free to comment).

The Islanders organization has made an important first step in giving Simon a leave of absence to seek counselling. I look forward to the league's decision on this matter. If he is suspended (and he damn well should be) it will be for the 8th time in his career. Hopefully for the safety of the other players it will be for the entire season.

Game of the Night

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It was a wild night in T-Bay as the Calgary Flames scored nine times en route to a spectacular 9-6 victory.

You know when a game has a 4-3 score after one period you're in for some exciting hockey. The last two periods did not disappoint, with 3 more goals scored in the second period (tying the game at 5) and another 5 goals in the third period.

Huselius impressed with a 5 point night consisting of a hat-trick and a pair of assists, and finished +5 on the night. Iginla potted 3 of his own and assisted on another. Young superstar Dion Phaneuf was credited with 5 assists. Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff was very mediocre, letting in 6 goals on 31 shots.

On Tampa's end, the first line did all the work, as is expected. Marty St. Louis scored twice and added a helper, while Lecavalier and Prospal each scored and added two assists. Defencemen Paul Ranger and Philip Kuba were an awful -5 on the night. Holmqvist was pulled for the second time in as many starts (the first being December 10th in Toronto, a 6-1 thumping) after letting in 4 goals on 6 shots. Denis finished the game and as you can guess, let in 5 more. Head Coach John Tortorella will probably have to flip a coin to decide who starts next game.

I've never liked the design of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The "Big 3" approach doesn't strike me as a viable one in this league. The Lightning have scored 99 goals, and the top line of Lecavalier, St. Louis and Prospal are responsible for 47 of them, nearly half. And if you're bent on making it work, you damn well better have a keeper who can bail you out. I don't think either Holmqvist or Denis are capable of that at this point. Heck, I'm not convinced either is capable of any kind of consistency right now.

While on the subject of failed strategy, I thought of the Maple Leafs. This is a team that has a certain appeal to many Canadian hockey players who idolized the team in their youth. This developed a desire in players such as Mike Peca and Eric Lindros to sign contracts that would put them in the blue and white. A dream come true for players such as these.

But what about the fans*? We all knew Eric Lindros was definitely on the down-side of his career. The man had suffered eight concussions and never played a full season his entire career (though he came very close once). The point is I don't care what type of 'bargain' they think he was at 1.55 million, there was no way they had high expectations for what Eric brought to the table. This was a team that could use serious help and signing Lindros was a step in the wrong direction.

As for Mike Peca, at least he had something to offer. He has a strong reputation for two-way play and penalty-killing prowess, though not for racking up points. And the Leafs got him at a hometown discount. Seems like one of those "Why not?" kind of deals that just didn't work out again due to injury.

And what's with these one year deals? Did these players just want to don the jerseys of their hometown heroes for one season before moving again to greener pastures? Playing with your favourite team is one thing, showing a commitment to winning with that team is another altogether.

More recently, moves have brought the likes of Pavel Kubina, Hal Gill, Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell to Toronto. I'll keep my thoughts brief:

Pavel Kubina: Shows a bit of an offensive upside with decent defensive acumen. A little overpriced at five million per season. Not a terrible signing really, except for the pricetag.

Hal Gill: $2,075,000 for a large, slow-moving pylon. That is all.

Vesa Toskala: Vesa looked like he could hold a number one position after stealing from Nabokov for a short time. They gave up some of their future to land him, but even I thought he could be worth it. Toskala got a heft raise from the 1.375 million he's making this season, earning 4 million the next two years with the Leafs. He's an improvement over Raycroft at this point, but is far from stellar.

Mark Bell: Kind of a dark horse here. He used to look like a capable 20-goal scorer, and the Leafs must think he does now despite legal trouble and a 71 game campain with a strong Sharks team that saw him finish with 21 points. He has 5 points in 16 games with the Leafs currently, but I'll give him a chance before I judge him too harshly.

And I nearly forgot Jason Blake. There were more talented and consistent forwards out there (Smyth, Briere) but none quite as cheap as Blake at 5 million per year. I don't agree with the salary, if only because he's 34 and has only one season at 40 goals, and no others above even 30. This year he's set a pace for 13 goals. I think that speaks for itself.

Given the results of signings like these, it's no surprise to me that rumours emerged concerning potential firings of the Leafs' head coach or GM.

*I am not a Leafs fan.

If a Leafs fan reads this, let me know what you think of your team's moves and where you think they're headed.

Trying to Buy a Cup

The New York Rangers seem to be using their old strategy once again, and once again to no avail. After finishing first in the league and becoming Stanley Cup champions in 94, the Rangers sought a way to win another. For 8 of the ten following years up to 2004's lockout, the Rangers would finish 4th in their division or worse.

The strategy I mention is the signing of superstar players. The Rangers had one of the league's highest salaries for many of these 10 years, topped out at 77 million in 2003-2004.

The Rangers began their shopping by picking up a young Peter Nedved in exchange for Doug Lidster and Esa Tikkanen. After the shortened lockout season, they shipped him off along with Sergei Zubov in exchange for Ulf Samuelsson and Luc Robitaille.

I might have thought their strategy in picking up Nedved was to get younger. But moving him and Zubov (23 and 24 respectively) for Samuelsson and Robitaille was a move in the opposite direction, and one that didn't pay off with a Cup victory.

Despite players like Robitaille, Gretzky, Lafontaine, Lindros, Fleury and Bure being bought or traded for, the New York Rangers went seven straight years without a playoff appearance from 97-98 until the lockout.

More recently of course, the Rangers have been making the post-season with Jaromir Jagr at the helm. However, it seems that when you bring help with names like Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury (incredibly expensive help at that) you expect a certain level of, well.....dominance. And so far the only player showing dominant capability is Henrik Lundqvist.

Hopefully for the Rangers they can find some chemistry and a way for the big-contract superstar approach to pay off. Looks like you can't just buy a Stanley Cup these days.

Ironic that a non-superstar like Sean Avery had such a positive effect on the team, isn't it?

Former Greats Fade Away

A few days ago, veteran forward Mark Recchi was waived by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Seeing another former great discarded in such a way got me thinking: What is happening to our veteran players? Has the salary-cap era put business before a man's dignity?

It started in 2004 with Dave Andreychuk. After 22 years of hard work he had finally lead the Lightning to a Stanley Cup victory. When hockey resumed in 2005, Andreychuk remained on pace for the same point totals he had the previous 4 years of hockey, but was waived. This is a disappointing and potentially embarrassing way for a former star player and captain of the team to leave the sport he loves.


John Leclair was put into a similar situation with the Penguins. After a fairly successful year in 2005-2006 (22 goals, 29 assists) he was waived 21 games into the following season. Granted his start wasn't very strong, but this is another former 50 goal scorer being tossed to the way-side in old age.

Luckily for Mark Recchi, he has another chance with the Atlanta Thrashers. Hopefully he can find new life with a new team and retire with some dignity when he feels he has given all he has. I hope in the future our beloved veterans can retire with pride and dignity rather than be forced out in the name of cap space.

And Gary Roberts....better pick up the pace, you could be next.

A Friendly Welcome

Hello all you potential readers. As it stands now, I plan to maintain this blog to write about all things hockey related, but there's a very good chance personal opinions about many other topics will sneak in.

I apologize for the title, it's still a work in progress.