No. 1 Star: J.S. Giguere, Anaheim Ducks

The Chicago Blackhawks rolled into Anaheim with an eight-game winning streak, but Jean-Sebastien Giguere(notes) put an end to that with his first shutout of the season. The Ducks won, 3-0, as Teemu Selanne(notes) had two power-play goals and Nick Boynton(notes) added another. Giggy had 28 stops against the fifth-best offensive team in the NHL, and the Ducks have won four of their last five games.

No. 2 Star: Patrick Marleau(notes), San Jose Sharks

There was a lot of fun hockey played in the NHL on Friday night, but few games matched the high drama of Dany Heatley's(notes) visit to the city he refused to be traded to last summer. Yet it was Patrick Marleau who stole the show. Heatley was a plus-2 and had an assist on Marleau's first goal, who later completed his hat trick in the third period with a shorthanded goal from Joe Thornton(notes) at 18:34 to tie the game. Joe Pavelski(notes) had the shootout game-winner for a 5-4 San Jose victory.

No. 3 Star: Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), Calgary Flames

The Flames goalie made 40 saves in shutting out the Detroit Red Wings, as Calgary skated out of the Joe with a 3-0 victory. He made 32 saves in the first two periods. Of course, this being the Red Wings playing in a game officiated by NHL referees, controversy reigns: Dan Cleary had two near-goals waved off on the night, first on a goalie obstruction call and the second when Brad Meier lost sight of the puck. Here's the first call: Does Cleary appear to make contact with Kiprusoff while in the crease? Because Mike Babcock believes he did not. If not, does simply being in the crease interfere with the goalie attempting to make the save?

Honorable mention: We don't often do this, but Chuck Kobasew(notes) is your No. 4 Star tonight. Chucky pulled the hat trick in the Minnesota Wild's 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, clinching it with an empty netter. ... Comeback of the Night, Vol. 1: The Atlanta Thrashers rallied with five third-period goals to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-4. Maxim Afinogenov(notes) (10) had the tying goal and Rich Peverley(notes) (9) had the game-winner. As incredible a win for Atlanta as it was a loss for the Hurricanes. ... Absolutely brutal game between the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, with big fights and key injuries. Tim Connolly's(notes) two third-period goals helped the Sabres to a 4-2 win at Philly. ... John Tavares(notes) scored the game-winner in an 18-shot third period, as the New York Islanders rallied to defeat the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2. The Islanders hadn't won a game when trailing after two. ... Martin St. Louis(notes) welcomed back John Tororella back to Tampa Bay with three assists, as the Tampa Bay Lightning scored five straight goals in a 5-1 win over the New York Rangers. ... Tremendous goaltending effort from Chris Mason(notes) (37 saves) in the St. Louis Blues' 3-1 victory over the red-hot Nashville Predators, who were wearing spiffy new third jerseys. ... Lauri Korpikoski(notes) scored his first two goals of the season and Ilya Bryzgalov(notes) made 30 saves in the Phoenix Coyotes' 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. ... Finally, Comeback of the Night, Vol. 2: The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame three Florida Panthers' leads and scored three goals in the third period for a 6-4 win on the road. Phil Kessel(notes) had a goal in that third-period rally, but this earlier goal from the first period was the best of the night:

Did you know?: New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur(notes) passed Patrick Roy (60,235) to become the all-time leader in minutes played. The Devils defeated the Boston Bruins in a shootout, 2-1. Brodeur had 32 saves on the day.

Dishonorable mention: Henrik Lundqvist(notes) was chased by the Lightning after giving up four goals on 22 shots. ... Marty Turco(notes) was pulled by Dallas after giving up four goals on 19 shots. ... Karlis Skrastins(notes) was a minus-4 for Dallas; Sheldon Souray(notes) and Steve Staios(notes) were both minus-4 for Edmonton. ... Patrick Kaleta is going to be hearing from the NHL's disciplinarians. ... Finally, just to restate the obvious: Epic Fail in Carolina.

Things began on Wednesday night when Kaleta took a hit from Alex Ovechkin(notes) of the Washington Capitals in the third period and went face first into the boards at Verizon Center. Ovechkin was given a five-minute major for boarding, a 10-minute game misconduct and ejected from the game. (Strangely enough, Ovechkin's only other ejection also came against the Sabres after a late hit on Danny Briere(notes).) 

Capitals beat writer Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post reported today that the NHL spun its "Wheel of Justice" and it landed on "zero games" for Ovechkin. The only punishment doled out to him was the hefty $200 fine given to all players who receive game misconduct penalties.

This afternoon when the Sabres visited the Flyers, Kaleta handed out a controversial hit to Philadelphia rookie Jared Ross:

Kaleta was give a 5-minute major for boarding, a 10-minute misconduct and ejected from the game. Does he deserve supplemental discipline?

As we've said before, there's no sense guessing because predicting whether or not a hit warrants supplemental discipline from the NHL is a fool's game as we've seen time and time again. After watching the play numerous times, Kaleta isn't skating in at a high speed and the moment he commits to making the check, Ross' body is turned away from the boards. It's midway through Kaleta's check that Ross turns his body towards the boards, causing the ugliness of the hit which was very similar to the Michael Liambas hit on Ben Fanelli from the OHL a few weeks back. 

After the game, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren wasn't calling for a suspension:

“It’s a little bit of a tactic now, where players will turn toward the boards and draw a penalty,” general manager Paul Holmgren said. “I don’t think Jared was trying to do that. But it’s certainly a dangerous area, and [the hit] is going to lead to a lot of discussion.”

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff defended Kaleta's hit:

"[Ross] knew he was coming," Ruff said. "He took a quick look right before, and then he turned. The difference there is it was a young player called up, he knows he's going to get hit on a heavy forecheck, and at the last second you're asking our player to hit the brakes."

As Matt from The 700 Level wrote, a controversial hit from Kaleta, a player with a reputation, and an end result of Ross leaving the game injured has typically added up to a suspension from the NHL. Buffalo hosts Carolina tomorrow night so any decision would have to be made rather quickly.

Stick tap to DayWalk3r for the video

 

NCAA Hockey 101 is a weekly feature on U.S. Division I college hockey. Stick around and you just might learn a thing or two.

As if things weren't bad enough for Michigan.

Earlier this week, not one but two players, current sophomore forward Robbie Czarnik, a Los Angeles Kings prospect and incoming freshman goalie Jack Campbell, the top-rated goalie in Central Scouting's latest report.

Both jumped from the program, or, in Campbell's case, a commitment to the program, in favor of joining the OHL, and both serve to underscore problems with the NCAA's relationship with Major-Junior hockey in Canada.

First is the case of Czarnik, who, unhappy with his current role on the team and his development overall (he only had 8-14-22 in 51 games for Michigan) jumped to the Plymouth Whalers. The reason for Czarnik's desire to change is obvious. Michigan is off to a poor start at just 5-7-0 after going 29-12-0 last year, and they haven't even looked good doing it. Czarnik wasn't playing as much as he'd like, but then he wasn't scoring much either. Interestingly, Czarnik will stay enrolled at Michigan because Plymouth is about half an hour from Ann Arbor.

As a drafted player with what appears to be pretty good potential, Czarnik had options. Theoretically, he could have signed with the Kings, but likely would have gotten a weak contract and would have had to play in the OHL anyway since he's not yet 20. So jumping to MJs seems like a logical step for a player whose development is stagnating.

They play a schedule similar to that of the professional leagues, for one thing. The same is true of the style of game they play. So Czarnik's feeling that he needed a change of scenery so he can improve his game is at least understandable.

Campbell isn't like Czarnik, who went to school for a year and a half and found that, for whatever reason, the NCAA game wasn't for him. You can't begrudge his choice to go to Major Junior based on that. But if Campbell, one of the best players oh his draft class, and the best at his position, is eschewing NCAA hockey as not being conducive to his growing into an NHL player without having played it, then that's a huge problem.

Campbell is, as mentioned above, very likely to be a first-round pick in June. He committed to Michigan (only verbally, mind you) because, well, he's from nearby Port Huron and Michigan is among the best programs in NCAA history. The fit, especially for a top-flight kid that probably grew up cheering for the Wolverines, seemed natural. And let's face facts here: his star is so bright that it was unlikely that he'd stay all four years at the U. But his stated reason for leaving was that the OHL would accelerate his development to the point he could be in the NHL. In a year or two.

How many highly-drafted Major Junior goalies can you think of that went from their league to the NHL in two seasons in the past 15 years? Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) and Dan Blackburn. That's it. Campbell may be good, but he's not first-overall good like Fleury was. But the perception is that the OHL will make Campbell a better player, and that's what's damaging to the NCAA.

The more top-flight players that choose not to go to college, the worse college will look to future top-flight players.

College hockey needs to do something to change that impression. Where to start? That's anyone's guess.

Pop quiz

Speaking of Michigan (I e-mailed him prior to their players leaving), here's this week's guest, Tim Williams from the wonderful Wolverines site The Blog that Yost Built.

1) Seriously, what's the problem in Ann Arbor this year?

Honestly, I don't think anyone knows. On paper, this team is a contender. On paper they've got one of the best defense corps in the country. (Goalie Bryan) Hogan was solid last year. (St. Louis Blues prospect Aaron) Palushaj was a big loss offensively, but it's not like Michigan hasn't dealt with those before. Two years ago, Michigan lost 50 percent of their goal-scoring and ended up in the Frozen Four. Last year they lost 46 percent of their scoring and ended up as a  No. 1 seed. This year? They only lost 27.5 percent. Everything seems to be in place but it's just not clicking on the ice.

Hogan has been shaky at times and seems to be good for at least one soft goal a game. The defense has turned the puck over way too much, they've given up too many odd-man rushes, and they've taken some mind-numbingly stupid penalties. The forwards aren't putting the puck in the net. About the only thing that's really been working is the penalty kill. God knows they've had enough opportunities to get that right.

They used to be able to get it to guys like (Tyler) Kolarik, (Max) Pacioretty, heck even Milan Gajic. But there doesn't really seem to be a sniper. They're also really feeling the effects of not having a go-to scorer. (Louie) Caporusso put up a lot of goals last year, but he was fairly streaky. They don't have the consistent point producers that Kolarik and (Chris) Porter were two years ago.

2) Why is Caporusso on pace for six or seven goals after he scored 24 last year? Does part of the answer rhyme with Baron Balushaj?

The loss of Palushaj has probably had some effect on Caporusso, though I think it's probably more by way of not having a threat on that second line to take some of the heat off than it is Palushaj not setting him up. The two of them really didn't skate together all that often last year. They played together on the power play, and they were linemates for maybe eight games in the middle part of the season, but aside from that they didn't play together. Caporusso's linemate, David Wohlberg, has slumped just as badly. He was fantastic last year and hasn't done anything to this point.

While Louie had a fantastic season a year ago -- he could've made some noise in the Hobey balloting if the Wolverines hadn't flamed out in the first round -- he hasn't exactly been Mr. Consistency. He only scored 6 times in the final 21 games of last year and disappeared in a lot of big games. In four appearances against Miami, three against Notre Dame, and the loss to Air Force in the tournament, he had zero goals, three points, and 16 shots on goal. Michigan needs him to produce more than he has. But you can say that about a lot of guys.

3) Why do you think the team responded to Red Berenson's "spoiled brats" speech with three straight losses?

Umm.... we're not very good?

I don't know. When you take dumb penalties, give up soft goals, and can't put the puck in the net, you're not going to win very many games. The Friday night game against Michigan State included a deflating goal, a long string of (deserved) penalties taking away any chance to get into a rhythm, and a fluky goal that was a back-breaker.

The game against Bowling Green was a classic case of, "You can't fix stupid." They take a dip-you-know-what penalty to go down two men, promptly give up two goals, give up another one a minute later while they're still shell-shocked, and a 2-1 lead becomes a 4-2 loss.

Dumb penalties, shaky goaltending, horrible power play.

4) What do you think are some of the bright spots in this otherwise regrettable start?

One bright spot would be that Robbie Czarnik is showing some flashes of the player we expec... wait, he did what? Dang, this is just getting better and better.

Alright fine. Bright spots: The arena hasn't collapsed, nobody has gotten kicked off the team for stealing a teammate's credit card, Hogan hasn't hurt himself "moving a refrigerator", and none of our defensemen have gotten assaulted (on or off the ice).

Seriously though, the biggest bright spot for me is that Carl Hagelin still plays hockey for Michigan. Watching him play is one of the most underrated joys in sports. The kid is all effort, all the time. He's an incredible skater, he works his butt off, and it's fun to yell "Bork! Bork! Bork!" when he scores. Chris Brown has been as good as advertised and hasn't gone near Rihanna. Chris Summers didn't go pro. That's about all I've got in terms of bright spots.

5) Do you see this turning around at some point?

Yeah, there's too much talent on this team to go 2008-09 Michigan State or anything like that. The question is can they get it turned around in time? I have my doubts about that. Last year, Miami squeaked into the tournament and they only had 12 losses at the start of the tournament. We've already got 7 and it's only a third of the way through the season. The margin for error is pretty much gone. It's hard to project who will be under consideration at the end of the season, but we're probably something like 0-5 against TUCs at the moment. If BU turns it around, it'd be 0-6. That's a big hole to dig out of.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they missed the tournament, as hard as it is to believe. I think they'll be fine before too much longer, but there have been a lot of Michigan teams on the tournament bubble who haven't started off this poorly or looked this bad in the process. They're fighting an uphill battle to get in. They need to find some consistency offensively, the goaltending needs to be better, the defense needs to be smarter....that's a lot of big problems to correct. I think they'll ultimately do it, but unless it gets fixed now it's going to be too little, too late.

Extra credit

• Shots to the head aren't just a problem in the NHL. The WCHA, and really every other conference in the country, is plagued by the problem. [Mankato Free Press]

• For the first time in its history, Quinnipiac is ranked in the Top 10. [USCHO]

• Know what's fun about college hockey? When a school gets a commitment from someone who is unbelievably young. That's the case with the latest Denver recruit, 15-year-old Tyler Pham. [LetsGoDU]

• Tuesday's win over Harvard might be a sign of BU getting back on the track to playing like, well, BU.  [Boston Hockey Blog]

• The New York Times' Slap Shot blog is usually pretty good (I say this mainly because they once called my blog one of their favorites), but it's misrepresenting the facts about how many college players were taken in last year's draft. They say 3.3 percent, but the number is actually about nine times that. Only a small disparity there, eh? [Western College Hockey Blog]

• A Wisconsin fan's reaction to a letter to the editor calling for an end to fights in college hockey, which is really quite stupid. If you can think of a full-on fight in the last few years at any college hockey game you attended, please raise your hand. [Sixty Minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets.]

• A big win over Vermont underscored everything UMass fans have to be thankful for. [Fear the Triangle]

(Hey guys, I'm always looking for links here. If you have a college hockey post on your blog, please send it along to the address below.)

Ryan Lambert writes about college hockey weekly here at Puck Daddy. You can e-mail him here or follow him on Twitter.

• The Edmonton Oilers players who twisted in the wind during the Dany Heatley(notes) trade drama during the summer (like Andrew Cogliano(notes), pictured angrily above) speak out as the San Jose Sharks visit Alberta this evening ... while the Edmonton media cranks up the rancor: "This is like running into an ex-girfriend (sic) a month after she dumps you - she's holding hands with a Tom Cruise-looking fighter pilot and you're asking if they'd like fries with that." [Edmonton Sun, and CBC Sports]

• Chris Botta talks with Sherry Ross about being the first female play-by-play voice for an NHL team, even if for one night with the New Jersey Devils. (For the record, Cassie Campbell was a color commentator for HNIC back in 2006 -- not play by play.) [FanHouse]

• According to Sportsnet, the Leafs will retire Carlton the Bear. Among the proposed new mascots: Angry the Fist and Ian White(notes). [Sportsnet ... UPDATE: This tweet calls B.S.]

• Kevin Allen reports that the NHL is only experiencing an attendance decrease of less than 2 percent this season. Which is what happens when a business protects its popularity by allowing franchises to paper arenas with free or steeply discounted tickets while reporting gate numbers based on tickets distributed rather than turnstile counts. Anyone with functioning retina knows attendance is down more than 2 percent this season. It's not the NHL's fault, necessarily; the economy is just not one in which the purchase of hockey tickets in October or November is a priority. But that's reality -- not the number in the box score. [USA Today]

• With Hossa in and that win over the Sharks, the Chicago Blackhawks are now being called an elite team and a measuring stick for the rest of the NHL. [Between The Circles]

• That being said, is every team on which Marian Hossa(notes) plays doomed for failure? [THN]

• Hockey Wilderness called for Alex Ovechkin(notes) to be suspended for his hit on Patrick Kaleta(notes) of the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday night, but Tarik El-Bashir said there's no supplemental discipline coming his way for the hit. HW is right and wrong: The NHL made the right call here, but that's not saying Ovechkin doesn't get away with more borderline calls than most physical players. Because he does. [Hockey Wilderness]

• Boy, imagine how sexy these women would be if they weren't wearing Habs gear? [Eyes On the Prize ... indeed]

• Niklas Hagman(notes) is getting a lot of trade interest, which is great news for the Toronto Maple Leafs and our fantasy team. [Sun Media]

• Leahy noted on the Florida Panthers third jersey pass/fail that "blue is the new black," and The Hockey News's Edward Fraser picks up the theme in a column about jerseys color changes. [THN]

• Speaking of which, the Nashville Predators are ready to debut their new alternate sweater tonight: a classy blue jersey that, one expects, could easily become their primary home duds in the near future. Shea Weber(notes) believes they've come a long way since their other third jerseys ... which is to say these don't resemble the color of baby diarrhea. [The Tennessean]

• A nasty hit by Victor Oreskovich(notes) of the Florida Panthers puts Wade Redden(notes) in the press box for about a week. [Blueshirt Batner]

• Brayden Schenn(notes) played his game for the Los Angeles Kings, and is now headed back to Canada. [LA Kings Insider]

• Toronto Maple Leafs emperor Brian Burke answers some tough questions about turning what continues to look like a high lottery pick into Phil Kessel(notes): "For a 21-year-old who has scored 36 goals, my analysis is that it's a fair price ... You hope that any player you take in the first round will have an impact and Phil's done (that) for us." [Sun Media]

• Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek(notes) could be back in the lineup again next week, just in time to face the Montreal Canadiens. [Leafs]

• Phish: The official jam band of Pierre McGuire. [The 700 Level]

• Ray Emery(notes) was expected to get the start today for the Philadelphia Flyers, with Brian Boucher(notes) giving him a huge push from the backup role lately. [Philly.com]

• Really great feature on Steve Stotland, the Montreal businessman who wants to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes. We still can't tell if his enthusiasm is industrial moxie or Ed Wood delusions of grandeur; we do know it's infectious, however. [Gazette]

• Jamie Langenbrunner's(notes) pitch for the U.S. Olympic team. [Star Ledger]

• Mirtle looks at the best defensive forwards in the NHL thus far and finds that Brandon Crombeen of the St. Louis Blues and Kris Versteeg(notes) of the Chicago Blackhawks lead the pack. Some interesting names not on the list so far; like, for example, anyone nominated for a Selke last season. [From The Rink]

• George Malik respects Johan Franzen's(notes) drive to compete in the Olympics, but doesn't see the injured Detroit Red Wings forward getting healthy in time: "I understand that Franzen wants to make the most of his best chance to play in the Olympics for Team Sweden, but I'm having a very, very hard time imagining that the Red Wings' ever-cautious medical staff will allow him to return in late January." [Snapshots]

• Is Todd Bertuzzi(notes) too R.P. McMurphy, post-op, to become a factor for the Red Wings? [A2Y]

• Alas, there were no waiver takers for Ville Koistinen(notes). [On Frozen Pond]

• Confusing times for the St. Louis Blues on television. [St. Louis Dispatch]

• Finally, Binghamton Senators pugilist Jeremy Yablonski(notes) has some of the best hair for a hockey fighter we've seen recently, and the fists to back it up. How'd that fight treat you, Matt Clackson(notes)? [Hockey Fights]

Despite having not played "Operation" in several years, we can tell you there's a world of difference between the ankle and the knee. (No word if he actually had butterflies in his stomach as well.) From the Boston Globe:

Lucic injured his left ankle Wednesday night in St. Paul, Minn., late in Boston's 2-1 win over the Wild, as he reached to gather in a pass from defenseman Dennis Wideman(notes). As he reached back, Lucic's left leg buckled from under him, sending him hobbling back to the Boston bench and then to the dressing room.

Speculation ran rampant after the game that Lucic suffered a knee injury and could be lost to the lineup for a much longer period of time. Chiarelli noted that the estimate of a one-month absence comes with some guess work. Lucic, he said, could be back earlier or later

Since signing his three-year, $12.25 million extension with the Boston Bruins at the beginning of October, Lucic has missed more games than he's played. He has 5 points in 10 games, and the Bruins were 7-3 with him in the lineup; without him (and center Marc Savard(notes)), it was panic time. Getting him back for only four games before this injury was a bitter tease for B's fans.

So his value to the Bruins can't be questioned, right? Well, the reaction to the injury news was interesting to that end, as hockey folks like Illegal Curve wondered if investing in Lucic (and over Phil Kessel(notes)) was a wise decision.

The deck's already stacked against Looch, because the "can he live up to the contract?" questions were flying around as soon as his pen hit the dotted line on that extension. Now along with whether his game is worth $4 million a season, there's the issue of Lucic's durability on top of it.

It all speaks to what's going to be an inevitable question in hockey circles: Is Milan Lucic overrated? We'd say "no," especially when these verdicts are being passed before his new deal even kicks in.

Unfortunately for him, there are now other questions, too: Can 10 games this season earn him an Olympic roster spot for Canada? And are hockey fans going to be deprived of Lucic vs. the Flyers in Fenway if this ankle injury goes longer than expected?

"Do you have a strange, pseudo-sexual devotion to a Russian professional athlete playing in your town or are you just happy to see me?"

Well, never let it be said the Capitals fans are ashamed to stand up and be counted, although clearly this "Rock the Red" thing has been taken to new heights. Perhaps the most surprising thing about these "Erection for Ovechkin" shirts is that they were available at Bleacher Shirts before Leonsis could trademark the term for his official team store ...

Alas, we were unable to locate any "Turgid for Turco" or "Engorged for Gorges" casual wear, but that isn't to say there aren't a ton of creative T-shirts floating around e-retailers onthe Web.

Here's a sampling of them in our unofficial Black Friday holiday hockey shirt buying guide, for the puckheads you love (or, of course, for yourself, you selfish jerk).

And here ... we ... go.

This Pavel Datsyuk shirt is perfect for the 100-point center in your life than can only get to 97. Cool design, with the faux Soviet propaganda look. Although the lack of the word "dangle" appearing anywhere on it is a Chris-Osgood-in-the-regular-season-sized letdown. [Café Press, $22]

There are a few Sean Avery "Avery Rules" tribute T-shirts out there, but this design is one of the most creative. Now you can wear the actual goalie interference rule that protects the Marty Brodeurs of the world from the pests. Finally, an Avery T-shirt that Gary Bettman can't swing the ban hammer to make disappear. Buy it now, or head to the sloppy secondhand store in a few years. [DecayNY, $21.99]

As the KB Store says: "Cam Neely. Great player, amazing actor. Does not like Ulf Samuelsson." We actually own one of these "Sea Bass" shirts, which are a tribute to Cam's incredible supporting role in "Dumb & Dumber." A much more subtle tribute than this shirt, although clearly not as gloriously red-necky. [Kurtentees, $24.99]

There was a mini-explosion of Patrick Kane gear after his incident with that cabbie forced him into court and into one of the most awkward Olympic apologies since Tonya Harding. But this 20-Cent baby jumper is not only adorable but offers hope that the Lil' Kaner will one day grow up to be four dimes, or maybe even three quarters. [Café Press, $12.50]

Throw this Milan Lucic shirt under a black jacket and it counts as formalwear at most Boston area fine dining establishments. Remember: They're not booing, they're Luuuuuuuching. [Zazzle, $21]

These shirts are available in plenty of e-retailer T-shirt shops, and for good reason: Few other shirts combine classic hockey iconography with tasteless juvenile humor ... which is to say that few shirts capture what makes hockey "hockey" as perfectly. Available in a vomit-inducing light green. [Café Press, $22]

One of our favorite hockey legends comes to life on this Buffalo Sabres ... er, "Katanas" shirt that celebrates the life of a player that never was. As the Sabres recalled on their Web site, Punch Imlach pulled a fast one back in the 1974 draft:

Bored, and exhausted with the tedium of looking at players that had a slim chance of ever making the roster, he decided to pull one of the more creative pranks in Sabres history. Sending a secretary to find some common Japanese names, Imlach soon came up with the imaginary Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas - literally translating to the Tokyo Sabres (Katana is a type of Japanese samurai sword).

Imlach 'fessed up near training camp that Taro didn't exist. This shirt is hockey fable bliss. [Twoeightnine, $25]

"It's not so much me as it is Roenick...he's good." This Jeremy Roenick shirt serves as a tribute both to his video game dominance but to his legacy in the movie "Swingers." So yeah, it's a conversation piece. Perfect for those occasions when you use the deke move to score 27 goals against someone who doesn't know how to control the goalie, making him throw the controller at a pile of empty beer cans. [Muse, $27]

This is obviously just a small sample of the hockey shirts floating out there. If you know of other clever ones, hit us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or toss them into the comments below. We'll probably have another round of these closer to the Christmas.

No. 1 star: Henrik Sedin(notes), Vancouver Canucks

Henrik picked up the secondary helper on Alex Burrows's(notes) first-period goal and scored the eventual game-winner in Vancouver's 4-1 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. His third-period goal, answering a late second-period tally by Wayne Simmonds(notes) of the Kings, came after Sedin won the faceoff, Alexander Edler(notes) cranked a shot from the blue line and Sedin collected the Jon Quick(notes) (30 saves) rebound for his 14th of the season.

No. 2 Star: Nick Foligno(notes), Ottawa Senators

With the Senators tied 1-1 against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, Foligno collected a pass behind the net on a power play and surprised Steve Mason(notes) with a wraparound goal for the game-winner. Ottawa wins, 2-1, and moving back into first place in the Northeast Division.

No. 3 Star: Kyle Wellwood(notes), Vancouver Canucks

The TV announcers initially gave Tanner Glass's(notes) third-period goal to Wellwood, who helped start the scoring play, but the Canucks forward would finally score his first of the season into an empty net to clinch the Vancouver victory. There's simply no way Kyle Wellwood could score a goal on Turkey Day and not earn at least third star, right?

Honorable mention: Jason Spezza(notes) had a goal for the Senators, taking some of the heat off the struggling center. ... Roberto Luongo(notes) made 31 saves in the Canucks win, while Brian Elliott(notes) had 32 for Ottawa. ... Jesse Winchester(notes) had two assists for the Senators. ... In perhaps the most interesting news of the night, the Kings signed last summer's first-round draft pick Brayden Schenn(notes) to a one-day amateur tryout contract, making him the third-youngest player to ever appear in a regular season game for LA at 18 years, 97 days. He played 12:31 with no points and a minus-1.

Did you know?: The Canucks won the faceoff battle with the Kings by a lopsided 41-25 margin.

Dishonorable mention: Dustin Brown(notes) was a minus-4 for Los Angeles, while Alex Frolov was a minus-3. ... Steve Mason is now 1-3-1 in his last five starts. ...  

 

(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." The following is written by Ryan "Two-Line Pass" Lambert, author of our ‘What We Learned' and College Hockey 101 columns. Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

Let's face it, you and I are always going to love hockey. If we've suffered through a lockout, Gary Bettman's antics and a Red Wings dynasty, then we're going to suffer through anything. And the NHL knows that.

They can add 30 more franchises, all of which are south of the Mason-Dixon line. They can make every NHL game feature not just a shootout, but also a speed skating and hardest shot competition. They can even go so far as to replace the Avalanche with a team of skating bears. And we'd still watch. That's what makes the NHL the dichotomous professional sports league in North America.

In the past few weeks, we at Puck Daddy have given you nothing but Top 10 lists, but it would be unfair to put the 10 decisions, good or bad, by the NHL into one list. To rank just the bad would be to ignore some really positive things that the League has done, and to rank just the good would be to ignore the dizzying depths of its lack of foresight and hypocrisy.

So here we go: The five best and worst NHL decisions this decade:

Part 1: The five worst

5. The Wheel of Justice

It seems like the dial on the NHL's sense of right and wrong has been set to "insane" the past decade.

On Feb. 21, 2000, Marty McSorley took a baseball swing at Donald Brashear's(notes) head and got 23 games, which was the remainder of the season including the playoffs. It seemed somewhat fair, but then a jury convicted him of assault and the League upped the suspension to a full calendar year. And that was just the start.

Since then, Todd Bertuzzi(notes) literally almost crippled someone and only got 20 games from the league, partly because, get this, he apologized. Sean Avery(notes) got suspended six games for badmouthing an ex-girlfriend to the media, while numerous players were suspended less than half of that for giving people concussions and/or putting their careers in jeopardy.

There's no rhyme or reason to any of it, except that a player's star power is the ultimate factor in determining whether or not he should be suspended. And that's just stupid.

4. More expansion

In 2000, we got two brand new NHL teams, just a year after the League presented us the joyous gift of the Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators. Because what everyone was thinking after those teams went a combined 42-104-14 was, "Boy I sure hope there are more teams like this, and soon!"

Enter the two new teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. The teams have combined to win one division title (Minnesota in 2007-08) and make the playoffs four times (Minnesota in 02-03, 06-07 and 07-08 and Columbus in 08-09). Combined win percentage? That'd be .486.

Apart from Minnesota's one run to the Western Conference final, including their hilarious knocking-off of the Colorado Avalanche, has this further expansion done anything besides give us under-appreciation of Rick Nash(notes) (who could be playing for Toronto RIGHT NOW!!!) and another team that played the trap for nine years?

3. Versus

Nothing says "credible league" like a broadcast deal with a network nobody gets.

At the time, the Outdoor Life Network was in something like 65 percent of the homes that got ESPN and ESPN2, but this was a Gary Bettman take-the-money-and-run decision. You see, Comcast, which owns OLN/Versus (and also the Philadelphia Flyers, tee hee), offered the league $200 million for a three-year deal, and ESPN had no interest in shelling out that kind of money.

The best part though is that, in deference to building OLN/Versus into a semi-respectable network -- and they just might do it in another 15 years or so -- the NHL also allowed for some games of the Stanley Cup Finals to be aired on this network rather than a network people actually know how to find, like, oh I don't know, NBC. Really.

Also if you have DirecTV you'll have to take my word for it that this is a channel that exists.

(Author's note: Please also consider this listed under "Best decisions" if you like watching games featuring teams in the Atlantic Division.)

2. The shootout

As cool as those moments are that we extremely, occasionally get (like the Marek Malik(notes) goal way back in 2005), this is a remarkably stupid idea that panders to ESPN and tie-phobic casual fans.

You just can't logically reward a team for winning in a skills competition after it played 65 minutes of hockey. But then that last sentence had the word "logically" in there, so of course the NHL does it anyway.

And if you do really, really need it, why not at least create a different points system so we're not awarding a team the same amount for winning in an actual hockey game as we are for winning a talent show? Giving out three points for a win wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened.

The ultimate proof that it's stupid, of course, lies in the fact that the rule disappears in the playoffs. If it's so good, why not have it all the time?

1. The lockout

I don't feel as though I should have to explain to a bunch of hockey fans how detrimental to hockey the loss of an entire season to stubbornness and greed was. It gave all the meathead football/basketball/baseball fans out there just another reason to point and laugh at the league to stupid for its own good, and gave ESPN another reason to ignore the sport for three or four years.

What a terrible time that was.

Part 2: The five best

5. The elimination of the two-line pass

Get your jokes in now. I'll wait...

This was literally the stupidest rule in the history of hockey. I don't know who came up with the rule, or who approved it, but this is the kind of rule, like touch-up icing, where I can't see how anyone thought it would help the game. "What," its creators must surely have wondered, "can we do to make the game lower-scoring, slower and less fun to watch?"

Thus, with the League smartly eliminating the rule (along enacting with a host of others intended to increase offense) made the game higher-scoring, faster and more fun to watch. What's not to love about that?

4. Dumping the league's hopes on a goofy-looking kid from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia

You can say what you want about Sidney Crosby(notes), especially if you're a fan of Detroit or Philly, but it's hard to deny the positive impact his mere presence in the game has had.

Pick up your local paper the next time the Penguins are in town. There's probably a story on Crosby somewhere on that sports front page. Pick up that same paper if, say, the Panthers are in town. Not even a mention. The NHL hype machine threw its full weight behind Crosby and, it turns out, with good reason.

He's won a scoring title, a league MVP award and a Stanley Cup. There's going to be a natural backlash from the hardcores because of how much attention he gets, but you can't say he hasn't lived up to the hype.

Everyone knows who Sid Crosby is. And that's a good thing for hockey.

3. Embracing new/social media

You really have to give the NHL credit for its forward-thinking approach to things like this. The NHL had an official YouTube channel and Twitter before most other leagues knew those things are (and in fact the NFL and MLB still make YouTube pull down any clips using their broadcasts, which is six distinct kinds of stupid).

What leagues offered Twitter-exclusive contests for their fans that cost nothing before this one? The NHL is so far ahead of everyone else it's not even funny. And where else can you find a player of Mike Green's(notes) status droppin' F-bombs?

In addition to that, NHL.com has become an excellent website. Incredibly detailed stats as far back as the late ‘90s, video highlights more or less as they happen, and I can pull up a third-pairing defenseman's blocked shots number from an individual game in 2006. The league's website used to be frustrating and now it's fantastic. Full credit to them for being ahead of the curve by a good two or three steps.

2. The Winter Classic

Granted they didn't actually make up "outdoor game as national attention-getter." You have to give that credit to the University of Michigan and Michigan State, which played The Cold War at MSU's Spartan Stadium before 74,544 people in 2001. Then the Oilers and Canadiens played in the Heritage Classic in Edmonton two years later and 57,000 people showed up.

But NHL did think it'd be a good idea to do it every year, and now a regular-season game in January is almost as important to the league as the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ratings bonanza? You bet. Iconic moments? I can't imagine it's easy to forget Crosby scoring a shootout winner in the snow. Big crowds? More than 121,000 people have watched just two Winter Classics in-person. This was a great, great thing for the league.

1. The lockout

I know what you're thinking. How can this be simultaneously the worst and best thing the league did? While a year without hockey is hardly a year at all, the way the NHL has come back from an incredibly dark time has been nothing short of remarkable.

The game is fantastic nowadays. That much is obvious. That's because of the things that the League and NHLPA agreed upon during the lockout. This new collective bargaining agreement, while not perfect, has been incredibly helpful for the league.

Imagine if things had continued on their 2004 course. Without a salary cap, this would still be what is effectively a five-team league. Without the rule changes, Alex Ovechkin(notes) would never have scored 65 goals in a season.

Without the lockout, hockey would still be dying a slow, boring death or might have even done so already. We can all agree things are much better the way they are now.

The highly anticipated debut of Hossa was not a disappointment for the Blackhawks and their fans. A 7-2 rout of the San Jose Sharks included three consecutive shorthanded goals chasing Evgeni Nabokov(notes) after the second period. Hossa scored twice with one of his tallies coming shorthanded. It was the second time in the past week that Chicago has scored seven goals in a game. 

No. 2 star: Ondrej Pavelec(notes), Atlanta Thrashers

Thrashers fans are quickly forgetting about injured-goaltender Kari Lehtonen(notes) with every stunning performance by Pavelec. Stopping 40 Detroit shots, Pavelec blanked the Red Wings 2-0 for his seventh win of the season. It was the ninth time this season that Atlanta has allowed 35 or more shots with Pavelec in goal. Almost ruining the shutout was Henrik Zetterberg(notes) who came close to taking advantage of a Pavelec turnover before being robbed. 

No. 3 star: Semyon Varlamov(notes), Washington Capitals

The Capitals rookie came up big making 25 saves and posting his first career regular-season shutout in the NHL as Washington blanked Buffalo 2-0. Varlamov, who had lost his previous two starts in overtime, improved his record to 9-1-2. Washington remains tied with Pittsburgh atop the Eastern Conference standings with 34 points. 

Honorable Mention: Niklas Hagman's(notes) pair of goals and rookie Carl Gunnarsson's(notes) three helpers were key in Toronto's 4-3 win over Tampa Bay ... Sidney Crosby(notes) now has 23 points in 16 games against the Montreal Canadiens after scoring a goal and adding an assist in Pittsburgh's 3-1 win. Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) made 18 stops for his third straight win ... Jamie Langenbrunner(notes) set up Patrik Elias'(notes) first goal of the season, the game-winner, in the second period and added an insurance tally with the Senators net empty as New Jersey defeated Ottawa 3-1. Martin Brodeur(notes) stopped 24 shots for his 570th career NHL win. Props to Devils color analyst Sherry Ross who made history tonight becoming the first woman to do full play-by-play of a NHL game in English ... Slava Kozlov(notes) scored his fifth goal in six games against his former team, the Detroit Red Wings ... Jonathan Quick stopped 22 shots and Wayne Simmonds(notes) tallied a goal and an assist in Los Angeles' 3-1 win on the road in Edmonton ... Teemu Selanne's(notes) 12th goal of the season was originally the insurance marker for Anaheim until it turned into the game-winner when Carolina's Brandon Sutter(notes) cut the Ducks lead to one with :53 second left ... Duncan Keith(notes) assisted on three of Chicago's seven goals and finished a plus-four.

Did You Know?: Nashville is 12-0-0 when they score on the power play. (AP)

Dishonorable Mention: In a tight game with Philadelphia, the Islanders could only muster one shot in the third period and ended up losing 2-1 to the Flyers ... Dallas went an ugly 29-for-76 in the faceoff circle ... Joe Thornton(notes), Dany Heatley(notes) and Dan Boyle(notes) all finished minus-four. Not the kind of stat category you want to be a leader in ... A hot topic on American Thanksgiving will be Alex Ovechkin(notes) who scored the opening goal for Washington, but made bigger news for his hit on Patrick Kaleta(notes) that saw the reigning Rocket Richard winner given a 5-minute major for boarding and a 10-minute game misconduct. The question now becomes if Colin Campbell's "Wheel of Justice" will be spun and if so, where it will land:

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders, 7 p.m. EST. Islanders goaltender Martin Biron(notes) will face his former team for the first time. In other goaltending news out of Long Island, Rick DiPietro(notes) participated in his first full practice after playing in just five games all of last season. The Flyer have won the last ten meetings between the two Atlantic Division teams and would like to continue the streak and end their current three-game slide. Danny Briere(notes) is currently serving a two-game suspension and will sit out tonight.

Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:30 p.m. EST. Montreal has seven points in their last four games, but their injury list has grown with the losses of Scott Gomez(notes) and Jaroslav Spacek(notes). Andrei Kostitsyn(notes) now joins the list as he's currently doubtful for tonight after blocking a shot last night against Columbus. Carey Price(notes) will make his seventh straight start for the Canadiens. Pittsburgh has won four of their last five and are currently tied with the Washington Capitals for tops in the Eastern Conference.

Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. EST. The two best teams in the Western Conference meet as Marian Hossa(notes) makes his triumphant debut for the Blackhawks. Chicago has won their last seven games including the first three of their six-game west coast road trip. Dan Boyle(notes) will be back for the Sharks after taking a shot to the skate over the weekend. 

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

-It's time to play "Name that NHL arena" with the Nashville Predators will no longer call their home "Sommet Center". [On the Forecheck]

-James Murphy reports that Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas(notes) may be suffering from a broken hand. [NESN]

-The NHL's third star of the week, Mike Fisher(notes), will miss Ottawa's game tonight against New Jersey with an "upper-body injury". [Ottawa Citizen]

-Eric Staal(notes) is expected back for the Hurricanes tonight. [Canes Now]

-Not hockey related: A judge in Nova Scotia has ruled that the "Happy Gilmore" golf swing is illegal. Shooter McGavin's around the world applaud this decision. [CSM via Hockey Head]

-Joe Pelletier delves into the dark, sordid world of Wayne Gretzky endorsements. Pro Stars cereal > Cheerios. Everytime. [Greatest Hockey Legends]

-Edmonton's Patrick O'Sullivan(notes) on being criticized by Mike Milbury on Hockey Night in Canada: "I couldn't care less what Mike Milbury has to say. That's why he's on TV, right?" [Edmonton Journal]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: A suffering Kings fan, Nathan m. chimes in on our Jersey Fouls post this morning:

"Why wear the pretend devils win hat when they actually have won cups? As a kings fan, we need to pretend, but most of you have no excuse."

Bold Prediction: Hossa grabs two assists in his debut, but San Jose wins in the shootout.

On the 54th day of the 2009-10 National Hockey League season, the hockey gods gave the Chicago Blackhawks Marian Hossa(notes). Almost five months after he signed a 12-year, $62.8 million contract, Hossa will finally suit up tonight for the Blackhawks as they visit the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference. (Watch the game live on Y! Sports at 10:30 p.m. EST)

The return of "The Redeemer" will be noticed immediately as Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville will put Hossa with Jonathan Toews(notes) and Patrick Kane(notes), giving the Blackhawks one of the best lines in the NHL. Playing alongside the young duo should help Hossa quickly open his scoring account. With three more games on the west coast before returning home Tuesday against Columbus, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Hossa will have Blackhawks fans already forgetting about Martin Havlat(notes) (two goals in 19 games for Minnesota) by next week, as the Daily Herald's Tim Sassone wrote yesterday.

While he'll be on a line with Chicago's two best offensive players should help, Hossa is coming off rotator cuff surgery and wasn't on the ice during training camp. As one of the four "Hossa Rules" for Blackhawk's fans, The Fifth Feather points out that Hossa's first few games will be considered his pre-season:

-Marian Hossa did not participate in the pre-season; this is his pre-season. Therefore, it will probably take more than a couple games for him to get his sea legs back.  Even if he plays out of his Slovakian mind on Wednesday, he’s probably going to look a little sluggish for the first couple weeks.  No need to panic if things don’t start off exactly as you planned.  The Hawks didn’t sign Sergei Berezin to a 12-year deal.

-Marian Hossa’s presence will NOT affect the team’s precious chemistry.  I have a feeling this will become a huge outcry.  With the Hawks in the midst of a 7-game winning streak and everything seeming to go their way, it’s only a matter of time before they lose a couple games in a row.  Naturally, Hossa will probably end up catching the brunt of the blame from ill-informed meatballs.  If the Hawks end up dropping a couple games upon Hossa’s return, it’s not because he doesn’t enjoy reveling in the Blackhawks post-game shenanigans like snapping towels at Patrick Kane in the shower; it’s simply the law of averages.

-It won’t always be Marian Hossa’s fault.  Thanks to his sub-par showing in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, Hossa has become a popular target for fans to blame all their team’s shortcomings on.  Just like Jay Cutler, Hossa will have an enormous bullseye on his back.  Even when he’s not to blame, people will still search for reasons why it will be his fault.  Please don’t fall into this trap.

-The Hawks will not automatically win the Western Conference simply because of Hossa.  It’s going to be very easy for some to simply point to Hossa’s return, the current state of the Hawks, and say, “This is it.  They’re going all the way now.”  While it certainly puts them among the front-runners of the conference, there is way too much season left to proclaim the Hawks are, for certain, guaranteed to win the conference.

Aside from the welcomed offensive addition, Chicago has received stellar goaltending from Cristobal Huet(notes) and Antti Niemi(notes), something that if they are challenge for the Western Conference title and beyond, they'll need on a consistent basis. Huet's 11-4-1 record has been bolstered after winning his last six starts and Niemi had provided a solid backup presence with a 4-1-1 in his six appearances. 

Good goaltending mixed with an offensively-skilled team adding a seven time 30-goal scorer is a recipe for success. Are the stars now aligned for Chicago? Is this Blackhawks team that learned how to lose last spring now ready to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup? Time will tell how much of an impact Hossa's presence in the Chicago lineup makes and if Huet and Niemi can continue to quell any worries about the team's goaltending situation.

We witnessed the quick turnaround by the Pittsburgh Penguins after the lockout ended and we're currently watching the Blackhawks do the same. The only question left is if the turnaround will be completed with a Stanley Cup ring.

 

("Sleepers, Keepers , Bench'em or Drop'em" is a weekly fantasy hockey column written by Darryl "Dobber" Dobbs, an honest-to-goodness expert on such matters and founder of DobberHockey.com. His column will run on Puck Daddy every Thursday in a non-holiday week.)

Marian Hossa(notes) makes his season and Chicago debut Wednesday, and his owners have been doing the fantasy hockey equivalent of waiting excitedly outside of Best Buy for the latest "Halo."

Injury replacement of the week: Brian Elliott(notes), Ottawa

Well, duh. A starting goaltender is out for several weeks so of course the backup is going to warrant fantasy interest. But I'm singling out Elliott because he would have been a great No. 3 goaltender pickup at the draft. After all, predicting a Pascal Leclaire(notes) injury is like predicting a donut for a cop - you know he's going to get one, you're just not sure which.

Are you drunk?

No. Thanksgiving this week, so the Puck Daddy piece is a day early and cutting into my drinking time. I think Elliott will win eight of his next 12 starts -- and I also believe that we ain't done with the Leclaire injury news for 2009-10 just yet.

The Keepers who are on fire...

Nathan Horton(notes), Florida Panthers: He has 19 points in his last 18 games, with 22 PIM and is a plus-8 in that span. His slow start is as distant a memory as that OMC song "How Bizarre." Definitely a career season on the horizon, possibly over the 70-point mark.

Maxim Afinogenov(notes), Atlanta Thrashers: It's the perfect storm - playing for a contract, surrounded by fellow Russians, and no Lindy Ruff. Injuries will prevent him from getting to 75, but don't completely rule out 70.

Zach Parise(notes), New Jersey Devils:  Eighth in NHL scoring. Get used to it. He's just 25 and I have a feeling that we will see him amongst the Top 10 scorers eight of the next 10 years. He is white hot, with 12 in his last seven contests.

Daniel Briere, Philadelphia Flyers: Since returning from injury, he has nine points in seven games. Sure, the Flyers have passed the torch onto their young, homegrown talent such as Mike Richards(notes), Jeff Carter(notes), Claude Giroux(notes) and James van Riemsdyk(notes), but Briere won't be outdone. He's not going to stop producing, so waiting for that to happen is like waiting for Fox to stop running American Idol. The only way to stop him is to suspend him.

The Sleepers who are on the wire...

David Legwand(notes), Nashville Predators: Hey! It's the curse of the Dobber Puck Daddy -- except this curse works in reverse. I slap some names down in the "slump" section and recommend benching or dropping them ... and then they kick it into gear. Matt Stajan(notes) is a recent example and here is another one, though this one took a month to get rolling. With six points in four games, Legwand is giving the Preds the secondary scoring they need to win. For this year, anyway, he has managed to fend off any threats to his No.2 center role.  He has been in that 0.58 to 0.68 points-per-game range four of the last five seasons, with the other one being 0.81.

Troy Brouwer(notes), Chicago Blackhawks: First, he'll have to get through the Marian Hossa return. Naturally, Hossa is going to eat into the ice time of several talented young wingers in the Windy City and Brouwer is a leading candidate. But it's not like he's been playing with Patrick Kane(notes). No, his chemistry of late has been on a line with Andrew Ladd(notes) and John Madden(notes) -- and it's difficult to see Hossa horning in on that line. With seven points and plus-3 with five PIM and three power-play goals in his last seven games, Brouwer shows promise. The power-play goals will diminish, but nevertheless watch his ice time the next three games. If he can still keep it above 15 minutes he is a sleeper for 45 points.

Raffi Torres(notes), Columbus Blue Jackets: Torres has shown these hot streaks before, but in Columbus it's good to see his luck turn around (knock on wood). Last year he couldn't tie his skate without breaking his fingers and foot in the process. As long as he doesn't break any mirrors, he'll top his career high of 41 points easily, but it's his goals that have poolies turning heads - on pace for 36. I'm thinking 28-20-48.

Carlo Colaiacovo(notes), St. Louis Blues: So far he's making Peter Forsberg(notes) look like an iron man, but when he plays Colaiacovo sure looks like a star. He has five points in his last three games and once the Blues start finding the net, C.C. will be a big part of that. I wouldn't count on more than 65 games, but that could still mean 40 points.

In a slump, these boys are mired...

Matt Carle(notes), Philadelphia Flyers: He's been hot before and he'll be hot again, but right now he's helping your fantasy squad about as much as Mark Eaton(notes). Two points in his last 10 games. Philly shifts power-play time to the hottest pair among Chris Pronger(notes), Kimmo Timonen(notes), Braydon Coburn(notes) and Carle. He'll get his mojo back. Bench him.

Steve Ott(notes), Dallas Stars: Ott was a revelation last campaign when Dallas Stars were dropping like Leclaires. He was a point-per-game player while his mates healed. With the team now healthy and Jamie Benn(notes) in the mix, Ott is back to filling other roles - and opponent's faces. Pointless in nine, he won't help you there until a couple of top six forwards go down. Keep him active for his PIM.

Patric Hornqvist(notes), Nashville Predators: With the top line all healthy and David Legwand and Martin Erat(notes) now finding the net without both hands and a flashlight, Horny is probably not going to frequent the scoresheet now. An injury is needed to put him back there. Bench him.

Sami Salo(notes), Vancouver Canucks:  Salo used to be a lock for 60 games and 30 or 35 points. Then he became a lock for 60 games and 25 points. Now it's looking as though the only "lock" is the 60-games part. Currently pointless in nine, he'll be lucky to get 20 this year. Drop him.

Darryl Dobbs is the founder of dobberhockey.com, a fantasy hockey community with over a dozen columnists, a daily blog and in-depth fantasy player rankings. His always accurate opinions can also be found over at The Hockey News in their fantasy section.

• Turkey Day on Puck Daddy features Three Stars and the next all-decade ranking, and it's something Bettman bashers will enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving to all; we're obviously thankful that you give this silly blog your time and attention.

• A video update on the Minnesota Wild "movember" charity mustache growing stunt. Clutterbuck looks like a kid trying to buy beer with a Fake ID. [CBS, via Hockey Wilderness]

• The New York Times sets the scene for tonight's Chicago Blackhawks/San Jose Sharks smackdown on the left coast, as perhaps the hottest team in hockey is expected to have Marian Hossa(notes) ready to roll. The Sharks, meanwhile, haven't lost at home in regulation yet. Flip on Center Ice tonight while diagramming your Turkey Day eating game-plans. [Slap Shot]

• Nik Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings calls Georges Laraque's(notes) hit on him "more of an accident." Wonder if he had any influence on the NHL's suspension duration? [Hockey Fights]

• TFP is reporting that the Kostitsyns are on the block for the Montreal Canadiens, and that Edmonton is a possibility with Andrew Cogliano(notes) coming back the other way. Are the Oilers better off looking for another kind of forward for that price? [Copper & Blue]

• Get Drunk on Hockey, Vol. 1: The Tampa Bay Lightning are offering a "$25 Tailgate - Unlimited Food, Beer, Wine and Soda" both pregame and postgame for their game tonight vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oh, and there's a concert by Danko Jones afterwards, too. RAWK! [Lightning, stick tap DH Speedwagon]

• Miami Herald writer George Richards? Not a fan of the new Florida Panthers third jerseys, in a "who do we blame for this?" sort of way. [On Frozen Pond]

• On Thanksgiving Day, Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman(notes) will personally deliver $1,000 worth of pies to various homeless shelters throughout Boston. Kyle Wellwood(notes) last scene seen (Ed. Note: Hi, I'm a moron. Joke Fail) checking Expedia East Coast flight options, looking for Vietnam-era Army jacket at Goodwill. [Bruins]

• Get Drunk on Hockey, Vol. 2: The Texas Stars are offering $2 drafts and $1 hot dogs on college nights this week. [Stars]

• The Nashville Predators have some young assets to move. So if Bobby Ryan(notes) is actually on the block for the Anaheim Ducks, Section 303 wants David Poile on the bat-phone yesterday trying to deal for him. [Section 303]

• Rookie Niclas Bergfors(notes) caught fire and then went cold for the New Jersey Devils, so Jacques Lemaire is rolling him out with Travis Zajac(notes) and Zach Parise(notes) for a kick in the rump. [Star Ledger]

• Blue-chip defenseman and keeper of the Snoop mustache Karl Alzner(notes) is back with the Washington Capitals. [Capitals Insider]

• If he plays, we're betting dollars to donuts that Steve McIntyre gets into a fight tonight for the Florida Panthers against the New York Rangers. [Panthers]

• Speaking of the Rangers, 5-Hole presents what the Blueshirts are thankful for this holiday week. Sean Avery(notes) is looking into our souls. [5-Hole]

• Paul Kelly gets a new gig with College Hockey Inc., the new marketing arm of NCAA Division, where hopefully the people he represents won't fire him at 3 a.m. [Boston.com]

• "Martin Bartek of Haie celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the Deutsche Eishockey Liga game between Koelner Haie and Frankfurt Lions at Lanxess Arena on November 22, 2009 in Cologne, Germany." Good to see European players are still willing to jump into the glass after the Swedish kid's mishap. [Getty Images]

• The Dallas Stars will honor Hall of Famer and ambassador of fun Brett Hull before tonight's game. [Dallas Stars Blog]

• Really interesting history piece by Dan Rusanowsky that gives the history of the "AHL shuttle" and what the great Eddie Shore has to do with it. [NHL]

• This Bloge Salming spoof takes a little while to get going, but once we get into the "$100,000 Pyramid" action with the Toronto Maple Leafs it's like a slice of fried gold. Ian 'Effin'" White for the win, Dick. [Bloge Salming]

• In praise of Jeff Deslauriers, and what the Edmonton Oilers need to do to support their young goalie. [THN]

• Scotty Bowman on the potential new arena for the Detroit Red Wings. [Snapshots]

• Eric Staal(notes) is activated off the IR. [Sportsnet]

• After flirting twice for ownership of the Canadiens, Montreal businessman Steve Stotland is now putting together a group to potentially buy the Phoenix Coyotes and keep the team in Glendale: "We're not in there for one year. We're committed. But the financial agreements have to be reasonable because the NHL doesn't want a local group to go through the same thing the last owner did." [Globe & Mail]

• On Frozen Blog with a long, interesting piece on Abe Pollin, the former Caps owner who died yesterday. [OFB]

• The Florida Everblades (ECHL) are holding a snow day on Dec. 5. Three words: Zamboni sleigh rides. [Everblades]

• Finally, Shawn Thronton's acting debut on this car dealership commercial makes Bruce Boudreau look like Brando. Or Max Talbot(notes) look like Meryl Streep. One of the two. [Hub Hockey]

Wish no more, friend; the Puck Daddy Hockey Rumors Live Chat begins at 1 p.m. EST, so join us along with Lyle "Spector" Richardson of Fox Sports and hopefully David "Dave" Pagnotta of The Fourth Period for the latest rumors, scuttlebutt, innuendo and Thanksgiving dietary preferences from an American and two Canucks.

(For the record: Lightly toasted white bread with mayo, stuffing, turkey with skin, about 10:30 at night. No cranberries, as in the photo. Nothing beats it.)

Puck Headlines will follow the chat. As always, bring the funny and we'll bring ... well, whatever it is we bring to this nonsense.

(ESPN.com labeled his coming out as an "admission" on the top of Buccigross's story, which is about as faintly damning a term as can be applied to someone coming out to their parents.)

Not only has this been buzz-worthy because it reignites one of the hottest of hot-button issues in professional sports (homosexuals in the locker room), but because it instantly transformed Burke, that steadfast promoter of truculence and testosterone, into a de facto gay icon. Brendan Burke has become hockey's Mary Cheney of the moment, though both child and parent are treating this public outing with much less political parsing than Dick Cheney did in an election year.

From Damien Cox in the Toronto Star:

Burke believes there will be those who won't embrace the family love inherent in his acceptance of his son's orientation or of Brendan's decision to go public with his sexuality. Burke remembered that when he was in California in November to vote in the U.S. presidential election - he voted for Barack Obama - he was aggressively confronted by anti-gay activists protesting a same-sex marriage proposition on the California ballot.

"I told them to (expletive) get lost," said Burke, who also voted for the proposition. "But over the next two weeks, yeah, I expect to get some hate mail over today's story. There is going to be a backlash. All I care about is if Brendan is prepared for it. It takes jam to do what he's done."

What has he done, exactly? Has Brendan Burke helped drag professional hockey from its close-minded, closeted traditions regarding gay players with his story? Or is this just a personal choice and a compelling narrative without political impact? (To that end, we recommend Big League Screw's "it's a personal choice" essay on gay athletes coming out.)

To help answer those questions, we reached out to Justin Bourne, the former minor league player-turned-columnist whose piece on gay slurs in hockey for USA Today is actually the reason the world now knows Brian Burke has a gay son. (Follow Bourne on Twitter here.)

The following Q&A is an attempt to clarify what this news means and if, in the end, it's actually newsworthy.

Q. How did you initially stumble upon the story of Brendan Burke and how did it end up on ESPN? 

BOURNE: After my USA Today column on gay slurs, Brendan wrote me a personal email -- he appreciated the article, and told me his story.  I thought it was great (and actually, I assumed it was common knowledge), and asked permission to share it with my readers.  He had to clear that with big Burke, and his employer, Miami of Ohio University's Enrico Blasi.

Once I got the go-ahead from everyone, I tweeted that the story would be coming.  Not sure what happened from there, but I ended up getting an email from Brendan saying he had the opportunity to take the story to more eyes through ESPN's John Buccigross, and that John asked him to ask me not to write my piece until he could.  Eventually, John wrote me himself. 

Of course, this story is much more valuable if people actually read it, and I know my blog gets maybe kinda slightly possibly just perchance less daily traffic than ESPN.  So I respectfully waited for the story to come out.

He's been out for two years; why hadn't this story been written before, do you think?

No idea.  I'm gonna guess media people just didn't know?  I don't think it speaks to anything bigger than that, like "growth of acceptance" or something.  No idea.

What do you find most compelling about his story?

That Brendan is gay? 

Okay, no, it's that it's Brian Burke's son.  It's the stark contrast in his personality to the perceived personality of a gay male, and how Brian hasn't so much as flinched about the whole thing. 

It's like in "Billy Madison" when Sandler convinces the kids it's cool to pee your pants - when someone like Brian Burke, a perceived alpha male, says "it's all good, you gotta problem with it?", you halfway expect all the lessers in line to go "no sir, I've always been okay with it too."

I've heard complaints about this lacking "news value," both from people who are offended by the notion that coming out is an "admission" (as ESPN's headline on the Web page termed it) and that it's not exactly someone with a direct relationship with the NHL. Your thoughts?

Lacking "news value"?  You don't have to like the piece, or Brendan's story, or the concept of the story -- it's just an interesting piece on an interesting NHL-tied family.  A columnist isn't limited to writing about scores.  Look at Rick Reilly -- as much as that guy has started mailing it in the last few years, he writes about the people in sports, not the sports themselves.  And, he's been fairly successful at it, I've heard.

Arguing about the value of the story misses the point -- just enjoy a neat story about a hockey family living through something that our culture makes matter, when in reality, they're a healthy, happy, family (the best response to the article might be "so what?" Not long after corresponding with Brendan, I almost lost my brother at age 29. That's the stuff that actually matters.  As Burke mentioned - who by the way counts as a "direct relationship to the NHL -- it'll be great when this isn't a story).

Your question reminds me of something I've learned along the way -- part of the problem with speaking in defense of gay rights as a straight man (though please note, I understand where they're coming from on this) -- it's suuuper touchy.  For a guy ripped right out of the dressing rooms of professional hockey (i.e. me), you end up feeling petrified of making the situation worse, or seeming to be insensitive, strictly because you don't know. 

I know now that the word is "acknowledge," not "admit," because they've done nothing wrong.  And that "sexual preference" is offensive because it's not a choice -- use "orientation."

One facet of this that made me uncomfortable is the assumption of what being a gay man means intrinsically. By that I mean: Brian Burke is known for brutal, physical hockey, and hey, he has a gay son. Doesn't the story live or die on the stereotypical "femininity" associated with gay men, juxtaposed with Burke's reputation and that of hockey?

Yeah, you nailed it.  But that's what makes this story so valuable. 

A guy (Brian) who blatantly frightens people and seems to have the Grinch's heart in the "before" picture is okay with having a gay son, seemingly without hesitation.  About 40-50 years ago, guys a "manly" as Brian Burke are the exact reason gay men were uncomfortable coming out.  The culture towards them was vicious and hateful -- I think this shows that things are changing, acceptance is possible. 

If you're a gay player today, and Brian freaking Burke is cool with it, how much farther does that go than if some polite, out-of-the-spotlight guy is the one "marching arm in arm" with his son on this?  I say a whole bunch.

Finally, there wasn't a lot in the piece about gays in the NHL, which you and I agree is the only discussion/disclosure that's going to shift the paradigm here. Were you surprised by that, and does this ESPN piece perhaps make it easier for us to get to that point?

Hmm, not sure I do agree, actually.

I think an openly gay player in any professional sport could help advance the discussion, and further, an openly gay player at even the lower levels helps.  This isn't going to happen overnight, like, "hurray, the NHL approves of gays today!" 

This is a process, and anyone rooting for the rights of people to just be themselves should understand that every little piece of progress helps right now, and this is one.

Like some bad high school counselor, all I'm saying is, the more we talk about it, the easier it gets. 

Oh, how adorable: Like the cake topper at a St. Louis Blues Jersey Fouls wedding.

She'll no doubt look back on this sweater stunt fondly when she's had to explain for the 10,000th time that "Bride 20" isn't an indication of her age at the time of matrimony, or that she married a polygamist.

Look, we're not completely cold-hearted bastards here; maybe just slightly chilled, like a plastic bottle of Miller Lite at the arena. So we wonder if there is an acceptable, less-Foulish way to pull off commemorative wedding jerseys, because we don't want to begrudge two puckheads in love the chance to walk down the aisle in support of their favorite teams (and for true love, eternal bliss, yadda yadda yadda).

Does this happy couple pull it off? Is there another way to do it? Are Bride/Groom jerseys just a complete Fail and a harbinger of doom for the relationship?

If there can be a Star Wars wedding, there can be an NHL fan wedding, right? (Thanks to Puck Buddy Ryan M. for the photo.)

Meanwhile in the Windy City, this Chicago Blackhawks fan really broke the bank to update what we assume was either a Chris Chelios(notes) (in which case ... why?) or Lyle Odelein (in which case ... OK) jersey to a Brent Seabrook(notes) model. Materials alone are setting him back, what, two to three dollars?

That said, we respect his flawless artistry in using all capital letters.

Thanks to Roman for the image.

(Coming Up: A incredible New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Hat Foul; a debatable T.J. Oshie(notes) Foul; the mascot jersey conundrum; Alfie's folly; religious freedom; Franken-T-Shirts; your Sidney Crosby(notes) Foul updates; and a Washington Capitals Foul that we're frankly tired of seeing stream into our inbox.)

And here ... we ... go.

Puck Buddy NYR34 caught this Montreal Canadiens Foul during a "Hockey Night in Canada" broadcast:

Just in case you didn't know how many cups the Habs have won in their history, this guy is glad to help you, good sir.

A Habs fan wallowing in legacy to ease the pain of reality, participating in "our banners are bigger than yours" posturing when the Canadiens haven't sniffed the Cup since 1993?

Huh ... that's so unlike them.

This is actually a tough one. Puck Buddy Jason D. explains this picture snapped at a St. Louis Blues game:

When I originally spotted this jersey from my place in line, I thought it was an Eric Brewer(notes) jersey, as I could only make out the No. 4 on the sleeve (Brewer is both our captain and number 4 on the team). It was only as I was leaving the line that I discovered it was, in fact, a TJ Oshie jersey with the captain's "C". Oshie is by far the overwhelming favorite among most Blues fans right now judging by the amount of 74 T-shirts and jerseys that can be seen on any given game night, so I suppose it's a deserved case of wishful thinking that someday he'll be our captain, and this guy wanted to get in on it early. That, or it was fairly cheap to add the C, so he just went with it.

Now, if this is a premature captain-ization, that's a Foul for sure, akin to ironing on a Stanley Cup patch before winning one.

But if it's a Protest Jersey through which he's calling for Oshie to be the team's captain ... that might be a Pass, though it's a slim margin. 

We've got a buddy who goes by the username "Hckyfght," and that was our first thought on this Los Angeles Kings Foul; like it's supposed to be "Hurry Nick" or something.

It didn't occur to us that Hrynyk is probably his last name, seeing as how there's actually a player in hockey with that moniker. Puck Buddy Eric C., master of the Staples Center Jersey Foul, opines:

I'm not sure what's worse here, that this guy put his name on a jersey with LA legend Luc Robitaille's #20, that he obviously sewed it on himself in what looks like Helvetica font, or that his name technically has no consonants. 

A little of column 'A', a little of column 'B' and a little from Column 'C' for good measure.

We firmly believe in freedom of religious expression here on Puck Daddy, and would have been inclined to Pass this because of that.

But we're fairly certain that neither Abraham, Isaac nor Jacob had any connection with the No. 69. Though we haven't polled our Jewish friends for clarification on that.

(Thanks to our good buddy Dave McBrayer of Carolina On Ice for sending over this Toronto Maple Leafs jersey.)

From Puck Buddy Chas D.:

I was at a Hershey Bears game a few weeks ago and this guy in front of me had on a replica jersey of the mascot, Coco the Bear. As you can tell, this guy is not very bear-like. Maybe there is something to be said for going with a jersey that will be around for a while as AHL players tend to come and go, but wearing a mascot sweater?

Interesting call, the Mascot Jersey Foul. Technically, the jersey the mascot wears is one created by the team that's worn on the ice, and it's unique to that mascot. So is it a Foul to wear one yourself?

Furthermore, as Chas points out: Players come and go in the AHL, but mascots aren't exactly called up as an emergency injury placement for an NHL team. They give a sense of permanence in a transitional League. So, based on that: Not a Foul?

Phoenix Coyotes fanatic "zyllyx" sends over one of the strangest shirt Fouls we've ever seen:

Not sure if this counts as a jersey foul since it's actually T-shirts. But what we have here is the "Gemini Foul," with a perfectly good Nordiques jersey shirt sewn Frankenstein-style to pieces of a cheap Phoenix Coyotes shirt (the budget version) at the Coyotes/Habs game on 11/12.

The hell? Is this some sort of puckhead political statement? Or a declaration that they only root for two teams: A defunct Canadian franchise and a franchise most of Canada thinks deserves to be defunct?

So confused.

Say, did you know Washington Capitals fans have rather strong feelings towards Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that frequently those feelings manifest themselves in satirical signs and/or jersey nameplates?

From Puck Buddy Carly K.:

My twin sister and I were enjoying a few beverages at Bar Louie before the Caps/Columbus game last weekend when we noticed this jersey foul.  Our questions: 

1. If you're going to fork out the money for a Caps jersey, why taint it with any kind of reference to Crosby?

2 - Number 13?  Huh? 

1. A rampant inferiority complex.

2. Hockey voodoo.

(Ed. Note: We appreciate everyone who sends us this Capitals Foul [NSFW] on practically a weekly basis. We think it's hilarious; the suits thing it's non-publishable. So that's why we can only link to it here. Just an FYI.)

Meanwhile, at the Igloo ...

... Penguins fans are keeping things in perspective.

Honestly, beyond the obvious, this is an Epic Fail for a Penguins fan. Having been told at least several thousand times over the last 20 years that Mario is God, this jersey is blasphemous.

Thanks to our friends at The Pensblog, who are no doubt stunned we published this considering it's a Crosby image that's nowhere near a urinal.

In all of its blurry glory comes this Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson(notes) Foul. It's pretty blatant and though undeniably thrifty based on a cost-per-letter basis. Puck Buddy Brad T. offers some more context:

Check out the rbk logo on the Alfie jersey, It's painted on over the ccm logo.

Hard to tell, but it would appear that Reebok logo is a tad large.

Finally ...

We need a ruling here.

Puck Buddy Jason K. explains:

OK, this isn't technically a Jersey Foul, but I figured this was the best place to get an official judgement.  I was at the Devils vs. Ducks game Nov. 11th and I snapped this pic (sorry for the bad quality, it was my cell phone).  It's a 2001 Devils Stanley Cup Champs hat.  At the time I didn't know if it was a rip-off or what would have been the official locker room hat if the Devils won Game 7 that year. When I got home I compared it to the Avs one, and it was the same thing, different logo.  Two questions. Where did he get that hat? And Foul or not?

This is completely nutty. Either he doctored a Colorado hat or he found a 2001 Devils Cup hat on some impoverished kid in Tanzania and swiped it.

We almost want to give this a pass for the sheer novelty of it. But having seen that New Jersey Devils series against the Colorado Avalanche ... this hat has no right to exist. At all. 

Bergeron was signed to slap a Band-Aid on the Montreal power-play following the injury to quarterback Andrei Markov(notes), who was sidelined on opening night. In that sense he's been a failure, providing only one point on special teams since his first week in a Montreal sweater. But lately – and somewhat uncharacteristically – he's been a force at even strength. Tuesday Bergeron scored a pair of goals in Montreal's 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Neither will go in the scrapbook – the first was scored on a deflection and Bergeron hardly got all of the slapshot that resulted in the game-winner – but it's hard to discount a game-high eight shots and a plus-3 rating for a defenseman generally considered an even-strength liability.

No. 2 star: Carey Price(notes), Montreal Canadiens

Price made several highlight-reel saves and kept the Canadiens within striking distance after two periods despite the fact that Columbus held a 28-16 advantage in shots through 40 minutes of action. With each passing game, Price's November numbers are making it harder to fathom the fact that they were calling for exile to the AHL a little more than a month ago. R.J. Umberger(notes) (5 shots, 0 points) may not be sleeping soundly Tuesday night.

No. 3 star: Anton Stralman(notes), Columbus Blue Jackets

If you were aware that Columbus currently possesses the most potent power-play in the NHL, then you're probably already a Stralman owner in your fantasy league. The Blue Jackets' defenseman scored his third power-play goal in five games Tuesday and added an assist to make it six points in those five games. His man-advantage tally in the first period game Columbus a 2-1 lead at the time.

Honorable Mention: The prettiest play of the night was Rick Nash's(notes) no-look backhand pass to Antoine Vermette(notes) for the Jackets' first goal. Nash had a pair of assists and Vermette would later add a power-play goal. … Welcome back, Sergei Kostitsyn. The once-banished Montreal forward played nine-plus minutes and recorded an assist in his first NHL game of the season.

Did You Know?: All but three of Montreal's 12 wins have come by one goal and Tuesday's victory over the Jackets was only the Canadiens' fourth win in regulation.

Dishonorable Mention: Columbus had goaltending issues on back-to-back nights. Starter Steve Mason(notes) was pulled Monday in a 7-4 loss to the Rangers and on Tuesday backup Mathieu Garon(notes) had what could politely be referred to as a tough night. The Michael Cammalleri(notes) goal that broke the ice on the scoring was on the soft side and Bergeron's game-winner was hardly a laser. "We have not got good goaltending the last two nights," Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock bluntly stated.

Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. Huge night in the NHL ... for anyone that has Blue Jackets or Canadiens players on their fantasy team. The lone contest on the schedule pits Carey Price(notes) (4-2-1 in his last seven) against Mathieu Garon(notes), starting in place of Steve Mason(notes), who was yanked against the Rangers last night. But the real intrigue is the return of Sergei Kostitsyn(notes), who went from suspended by the franchise to AHL exile to back to the big league. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games (OK, "game") on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• Danny Briere(notes) has been "suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of a late hit on an unsuspecting opponent -- Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan(notes)" in the Philadelphia Flyers' game at Colorado last night. The Flyers seem surprisingly cool with it, being the Flyers and all. [Courier Post]

• Don Cherry on how he'll watch the CBC bio-pic about him that's premiering in 2010: "I'm going to be in the basement by myself, and I'll cry and laugh - I guess at the same time." A.K.A. how most of us watch Coach's Corner. [CP]

• Bettman on the passing of Abe Pollin, former Washington Capitals owner: "Abe Pollin always wanted the best for his teams, for the fans and for Washington -- and all of those passions combined to create the arena that revitalized the entire downtown community. He was a man of commitment and principle and we all will miss him. The National Hockey League family sends sincere condolences to his loved ones."

• Michael Farber looks at the state of he Minnesota Wild, and after reading it we're thinking they should go in the tank, count the ticket receipts and get themselves a top two pick. [SI]

• Western College Hockey Blog pwns the NY Times. [WCHB]

• The Falconer picks up the beat from a drum we've been banging for years: "My hunch is that the best 'hockey markets' are often markets that have witnessed the most post-season success." [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

• BD Gallof with some more opining on the Islanders' arena project. [Huffington Post]

• Life on the Olympic bubble for Mike Green(notes). Many burgers and beers will give their lives during the 2010 break if Green is snubbed. [CBC Sports]

• More coverage of Marian Hossa's(notes) long-awaited debut for the Chicago Blackhawks. Second City's nickname for Toews/Kane is "Daydream Nation," because that Sonic Youth album came out in 1988. Thank god Kane doesn't wear No. 90. [Second City Hockey]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: LT, bringing it strong on the women's hockey front on the mini-Phaneuf hit post --

"Weisenheimer is complaining about contact? Pot calling the kettle black. She is a dirty player and has no room to whine. But then again, that's what she and her team do best."

OH SNAP!

Bold Prediction: Mark it down -- a Kostitsyn scores tonight. Not A. Kostitsyn, necessarily, but one of them.

The long-gestating AHL outdoor classic -- the "Mirabito Outdoor Classic" -- is now set for 1 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2010 at the New York State Fairgrounds, with the Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate) taking on the Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators affiliate). Senator Chuck Schumer wants it to become an annual tradition, perhaps even for cities outside of upstate New York, as long as he's the reason they're happening and there are cameras involved.

Of course, the economic details on this thing will ultimately dictate if the trend continues in the AHL. From Syracuse.com:

The game is estimated to bring in 2,800 overnight guests and pump $1 million into the local economy. Tom Mitchell, executive vice president of operations for Binghamton, said ticket sales have already taken off in his city. "This probably won't be easy,'' Mitchell said of putting together the game. "But I commend the Syracuse Crunch and (owner Howard Dolgon) for their tenacity and determination to do it.''

The game could cost as much as $900,000. The Crunch is paying as much as $550,000, which includes about $400,000 for installation of the temporary rink. Sponsorship helps out with about $350,000, including $100,000 from Time Warner. Gov. David Paterson helped secure a $75,000 grant from the Empire State Development Corp., and also cleared the way for the Crunch to use the Fairgrounds without paying a user fee.

The article says that "the contest will be televised live by Time Warner Cable and the feed might be picked up by the NHL Network." Wait, "might be?" Yeah, why would they preempt the 80th showing of On The Fly for the first outdoor game in AHL history?

Hopefully, it's a success, because the idea of "mini-Classics" in other AHL cities is really appealing. Hershey? Manitoba? Milwaukee? Hey, maybe it's a way for Toronto to finally get its Classic.

• OMG Jersey Fouls on Wednesday. Should be a chat 1 p.m. EST as well.

• When is Marian Hossa(notes) going to learn to stop answering questions about the teams he used to play for? To the Chicago Tribune, about the differences between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings: "The difference is this is one of the youngest groups of guys I've ever played with. It's lots of fun in the dressing room. It's a different crowd than it was in Detroit. It might be a little bit more mature there, but it's fun in the (Hawks') room." [Snapshots]

• The many questions about Marian Hossa finally joining the Blackhawks' lineup this week. [Paint It Blackhawks]

• Buccigross with a column on Brian Burke's son, who is gay. Very interesting, insightful stuff, though we might have structured it a bit differently. (The "imagine you are" device makes is a little clunky.) [ESPN]

• The New York Posts lists the most overrated teams in sports. There's one hockey entry. [NY Post]

• Ottawa Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire(notes) will be out for a month after an errant puck struck his cheekbone last night as he sat on the bench nursing another injury. That's, like, the stuff of gypsy curses right there. [Sportsnet]

• Terrific satirical post by View From My Seats on John Tavares's(notes) visit to Toronto last night: "The Globe and Mail piece waited until the 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph before mentioning the name Wayne Gretzky. Don't feel special, they do this to every hotshot prospect that is a native of Ontario." [VFMS]

• Also recommended, as always: Down Goes Brown's reasons why Alex Ovechkin(notes) won't light up the Leafs this weekend: "Had heard a rumor that if the game went to a shootout, entire Leafs roster would embarrass themselves with a ridiculously demeaning attempt at rally caps." [DGB]

• Goaltender Vesa Toskala(notes) and center John Mitchell(notes) head to the IR. [CBC Sports]

• Mike Chen presents Fun With Google Image Search, including some sort of Cheechoo-related Care Bears photo we can't figure out. [Chen]

• The Detroit Red Wings talk about Georges Laraque's(notes) five-game suspension handed down yesterday, but aren't exactly asking for more than he received. [Freep]

• Good piece by Paul Kukla on the reality of Detroit Red Wings fans surroundings this season: "These are not the Detroit Red Wings of the recent past. These are not the Red Wings who could win a game on talent alone. These are not the Wings who, on an off night, could still pull out a victory." [NHL.com]

• Brian Burke has his shovel ready to bury Toronto Maple Leafs problem contracts in the minor leagues, and his temper might be getting shorter: "When we're struggling, the first casualty for me is sleep. I don't sleep when we're losing." Poor guy's got, what, seven weeks of insomnia at this point? [Toronto Sun]

• After months weeks a few hours, Denver Post Adrian Dater has decided to come back to Twitter. Fliiiip-fllllllop ... [All Things Avs]

• Check out Rich Hammond's coverage of  Brandon Segal(notes), a player that's bounced around like a pinball in his young NHL career. [Kings Insider]

• In praise of Don Waddell's glorious reclamation projects with the Atlanta Thrashers, like Rich Peverley(notes) Maxim Afinogenov(notes). [Hockey Writers]

• Razor has your hockey terminology refresher: "Chute puller - guy who feigns being injured when he's only hurt." [Razor With An Edge]

• In praise of everyone's favorite cheap shot artist, Matt Cooke(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins. [Pensbugh]

• A kinder, gentler Marc Crawford. [Puck Update]

• Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin(notes), Mike Knuble(notes), Tom Poti(notes) and Boyd Gordon(notes) were all missing from Washington Capitals practice today. [Capitals Insider]

• An interview with the lovely and talented and lovely Alyonka Larionov. Did we mention lovely? [Pens Universe]

• Finally, from YouTube: "Missouri State Ice Bears Hockey team buzz marketing event. Missouri State students walk the campus with a hockey stick over ten feet long."

We can add another name to the list of people who think players named Phaneuf cross the line with their hitting: Canadian women's hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser. Only her gripe is with Dion's younger brother.

What the heck? Was Hayley trying to apply the Million Dollar Dream on Phaneuf? Was Virgil standing by with a dollar bill to shove in his mouth after she choked him out?

From the Calgary Sun's Eric Francis:

Dion Phaneuf's 15-year-old brother Dane caused a bit of a stir in Edmonton last week when he rubbed out Hayley Wickenheiser in a non-contact exhibition game against the women's national team. Wickenheiser, 31, took exception to the jarring and let him know by applying a rather violent choke-hold from behind in an effort to try wrestling him to the ice. Dion thought it was funny, and so do I.

Yeah, and so do we. If only because we fully endorse more brutality in women's hockey ... even if it's instigated by a teenage boy.

Stick tap to 25Stanley.com for the story.

 

(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

How you choose to define, or quantify, the "best" player in the NHL over the last decade will determine your level of agreement with this ranking, which is sure to be one of our most controversial End of Decade lists.

Do you judge greatness based on flashy stats? Championship rings and playoff performance? Individual awards? Do you factor in intangibles like leadership or reputation?

We took everything into account for our Player of the Decade countdown, which focuses on NHL achievement rather than bringing international hockey into the equation. Every spot on the list is up for debate, but we feel as though these 10 players defined the 2000s for professional hockey. Keep in mind that the 2000s meant one set of rules, a work-stoppage, and then another set of rules.

Here are the 10 best players of the last decade ...

10. Jaromir Jagr(notes)

Before he left for the KHL in 2008, Jagr amassed 737 points in the decade, leading the NHL in assists (69) in 2000-01 and points in two seasons (1999-2001). He was the player-voted MVP in 2000 and 2006, and made four all-star teams.

The problem for Jagr is that his masterpiece came in the last season of the 1990s: That 127-point MVP campaign with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the 2000s, he spent two fantastic years with the Pens before losing his smile with the Washington Capitals for two-and-a-half average seasons. He found his game again with the New York Rangers, posting stellar numbers despite playing in a defensive system.

But the previous decade was more memorable for Jagr. And not just because of the mullet.

9. Joe Thornton(notes)

With 794 points in the decade playing for the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, Thornton was a six-time all-star and the winner of both the Art Ross and Hart trophies in the 2005-06 season.

No, his 44 points in 59 playoff games wasn't impressive, and neither was the constantly underwhelming performance from his teams in the postseason. But Thornton was arguably the best assist man of the decade, leading the League three times in that category; and his 96-assist, 125-point MVP season remains of the decade's truly remarkable personal achievements.

8. Joe Sakic(notes)

Sakic only played 59 games in his last two seasons (curse you, demonic snow blower!) before retiring last summer for the Colorado Avalanche, which dragged down his stats significantly. He ended up with 650 points for the 2000s, although he never led the NHL in any major offensive category during the decade -- outside of plus/minus in 2000-01 (plus-45).

That 2000-01 season the best of Sakic's career: 54 goals, 118 points and both the Hart and the Pearson (and the Lady Byng ... can't forget about sportsmanship).

Why does he rank above Jagr and Thornton, who outscored him? Because neither of them played in a Stanley Cup final in the last decade, let alone led all playoff scorers 13 goals and 26 points as Sakic did in 2001. More importantly, neither of them earned the right to have their name on the Stanley Cup as Sakic did for the second time.

He was a star player and a formidable leader. Intangibles count ... as they do for this next dude, too.

7. Jarome Iginla(notes)

The Calgary Flames captain was a five-time all-star, a two-time NHL leader in goals (2001-02, 2003-04) and the Pearson winner for his 52-goal season of 2001-02. (He was famously jobbed out of the Hart in a controversy that forced a change in vote tabulation.) Overall, Iggy had 718 points in the 2000s.

He led all playoff scorers with 13 goals in the Flames' 2004 runner-up campaign for the Cup. He then captained the team to four consecutive playoff appearances after that loss. Inconsistency and questionable managerial decisions have undermined the Flames since that pre-lockout Cup run; but no one dare say any of that is Iginla's fault.

6. Scott Niedermayer(notes)

Niedermayer solidified his credentials as an all-time great defenseman with two Stanley Cups, one with the New Jersey Devils and the other with the Anaheim Ducks; and his clutch offense and shutdown defense earned him the Conn Smythe in 2007. He won his first and only Norris Trophy in 2003-04.

Niedermayer began the decade with many wondering what he could accomplish offensively if freed from the Devils' systematic defense. He sufficiently answered the question by scoring 216 points in four seasons with the Ducks after signing with Anaheim as a free agent in 2005. He had 415 points overall in the decade.

Also the unofficial winner of the best salt-and-pepper playoff beard award, for what that's worth.

5. Chris Pronger(notes)

Pronger ahead of Niedermayer? Absolutely.

He tallied 420 points despite being limited to five regular season games in 2002-03 due to an arthritic left wrist and a torn right ACL. Two of Pronger's achievements in the last decade are unmatched by Niedermayer or any other defenseman.

The first was his 1999-2000 season that saw Pronger finished with a career-best 62 points and a plus-52 to lead the NHL, winning both the Hart and the Norris trophies as a member of the St. Louis Blues.

The second was that Herculean effort in the 2006 postseason, as Pronger carried the Edmonton Oilers to within one victory of the Stanley Cup with an effort that had some calling for him to win the Conn Smythe in a losing effort. It was, without question, one of the most dominant postseason runs for any athlete in the NHL over the last decade, perhaps even two decades.

Should Pronger fall a few notches because of the weight of his baggage? Because he and his wife broke the hearts of Edmonton fans before claiming those fans burned his kid's crib? Because of the suspension history, including the Stampy the Elephant moment with Ryan Kesler(notes)?

It's legacy-tarnishing stuff, but not enough to overpower Pronger's unparalleled accomplishments on the ice.

4. Sidney Crosby(notes)

Yeah, we've arrived at this point in the countdown. And if Sidney's here, you know who's ranked ahead of him, sample size be damned for both of them.

Ignoring the Beatles/Stones, Luke/Han, Tastes Great/Less Filling dynamic between Crosby and Ovechkin is ignoring one of the great debates of the decade. Their placement on this list is a de facto "Player of NHL 2.0" contest, as they're the most dominant players of the post-lockout era.

The case for Sidney: 132 goals and 265 assists for 397 points in 290 games. He led the League in points in 2006-07 with 120 as a 19 year old, the year he won the Hart and the Pearson. He had 63 points in 49 playoff games, including that masterful 15-goal performance to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup last season; and while Ovechkin won the individual stats battle in their classic semifinal confrontation, Crosby has the series win and the Cup.

That means something, for sure; but it's not enough to overtake Ovechkin on the Player of the Decade countdown. Had Crosby remained healthy in 2007-08, when he was limited to 53 games, perhaps he overtakes Ovechkin's points lead and/or wins some more hardware to rival the Russian's trophy case. But that's projection and conjecture, when the reality is that Ovechkin's had the better decade and, thus, career so far.

3. Alex Ovechkin(notes)

The Washington Capitals winger entered this season with 219 goals, 201 assists and 420 points in 324 games.  No, he doesn't have a Stanley Cup; or even a conference title, of which Crosby has two. But he has nearly everything else.

Check out the Hockey-Reference.com honors and awards sections for Crosby and Ovechkin. Statistically, Ovi's accomplishments dwarf those of Sidney -- leading the League in goals twice and points once, while also leading the NHL in categories like power-play goals. His 2007-08 seasons was, in our estimation, the best of the decade for an individual player (non-goalie). 

It's also no contest when it comes to hardware: Ovechkin has doubled up Crosby in Hart trophies and Pearson awards, while famously winning the Calder in a rookie season that seemed predestined to be Crosby's time to shine.

There are other factors to consider: Crosby's defense, Ovechkin's physical game, the talent both players did or did not skate with at various times in their decade of dominance. But, overall, Ovechkin gets the nod; though this stats vs. prestige debate could very well define their rivalry by the end of their respective careers.

2. Martin Brodeur(notes)

At some point in the last decade, Brodeur began to receive proper credit for his historic numbers between the pipes for the New Jersey Devils. After coaching changes, system changes, rules changes and changes in the personnel in front of him, the fact remained that Brodeur posted some of the best stats of his career during the 2000s to go along with some incredible personal accolades.

His Devils captured two Stanley Cups in the decade, with Brodeur in consideration for the Conn Smythe in 2003 that eventually went to J.S. Giguere. He entered this season with 356 wins, although that total was aided by the advent of the shootout, where Marty excelled. Four of his five best save-percentage seasons occurred in the last 10 years; three of his five best seasons for goals-against average occurred in the same duration. He posted 65 shutouts in the last decade.

He won the Jennings Trophy twice and four Vezina Trophies, validating his status as one of the elite goalies of the last quarter century. Not bad for a fatso.

But not the Player of the Decade, either.

1. Nicklas Lidstrom(notes)

When asked for our all-decade team during the summer, we wrote the following about the Detroit Red Wings defenseman:

"When you've won so many Norris Trophies than you can play a game of Jenga with them, I'd say that warrants inclusion on this list."

Lidstrom's six Norris Trophies for best defenseman aren't an NHL record: Doug Harvey has seven and Bobby Orr has eight. But those players competed in a slightly smaller League, and Lidstrom's remained king of the mountain despite challenges from some stellar, Hall of Fame-potential defenseman, two of whom are on this list.

Simply put, he was the total package. An offensive player who tallied 574 points, his four best point-scoring seasons all coming in the 2000s. A defensive player who was a plus-232 for the decade, frequently logging more than 28 minutes a night for the Wings. A leader who won the Conn Smythe for the Wings' 2001-02 Stanley Cup champions, and who then captained a second Detroit team to the Cup in 2007-08. And he made it look frequently effortless.

We previously broke down the Lidstrom/Brodeur dynamic when The Sporting News named the defenseman as its player of the decade, a decision we obviously endorse. Looking back at our ranking here, what we said then still stands in the final analysis:

The best two players of the last 10 years were a defenseman and a goaltender, and that speaks volumes about which positions are underappreciated in the NHL, as well as the marketing challenges the League's faced in selling guys who keep pucks out of, rather than put them into, the net.

Brodeur and Lidstrom never received the marketing push of a Crosby or an Ovechkin; they'll have to just settle on being legendary performers at their given positions in the NHL.

There was plenty of hype for the Florida Panthers last night, coming back to BankAtlantic Center after an undefeated road trip and facing the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. They even had a 2-0 lead on Pittsburgh, but the Cats eventually lost in overtime, 3-2.

But the real hype for the Panthers and their fans was the unveiling of the team's new third jerseys, which they will wear a dozen times this season. After speculation about whether the team would go retro like the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, or create a new look that would have fans reaching for their wallets, the Panthers decided on a two-tone blue scheme and a redesigned logo.

Along the same line of thinking as FanHouse, my first thought was that the Panthers new duds are the end result of a Conan O'Brien "If They Mated" sketch featuring the Penguins' and St. Louis Blues' third jerseys.

The other thought, as Puck Daddy reader Shae and the Miami Herald's George Richards pointed out, is that Florida new design was inspired by the Hockey Night in Canada jerseys that came out a few years ago (and a similar template that the Colorado Avalanche used):

With the crop of new jerseys debuting this season, it's becoming noticeable that navy blue is becoming the new black around the NHL. Formerly all the rage among NHL teams, navy blue can now be found with the Panthers, Blues and Nashville Predators third jerseys. Is this the start of the trend away from the black jersey?

But back to the topic at hand here ...

Pass or Fail: The Florida Panthers' new third jerseys.

 

No. 1 star: Dwayne Roloson(notes), New York Islanders

Usually, goalies who give up three goals aren't going to be the No. 1 star. But those goalies usually don't face 61 shots. In fact, Roloson's 58 saves in the Islanders' 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most since Ron Tugnutt's 70-save game in March 1991, according to the AP. (Phil Kessel(notes) had 12 on his own.) Not bad for a 40-year-old. Josh Bailey(notes) had the game-winner in overtime, after the Leafs rallied from a 3-0 hole. 

No. 2 Star: Marian Gaborik(notes), New York Rangers

After the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead, the Rangers used a John Tortorella timeout "just relax" chat and exploded for seven straight goals in a 7-4 victory. Gaborik had two goals (18 on the season) and two assists, including a beautiful helper on Sean Avery's(notes) second of the night. Also beautiful: Michael Del Zotto's(notes) Leetch-like solo effort for goal No. 3.

No. 3 Star: Patrice Bergeron(notes), Boston Bruins

Four goals for the Bruins, four assists for Bergeron, including two primary helpers on power-play goals by Mark Recchi(notes) and Blake Wheeler(notes). The Bruins won their third in a row, 4-2, at the St. Louis Blues.

Honorable mention: On another night, Jeff Deslauriers's shutout for the Edmonton Oilers (36 saves) makes the cut for the top three. Oilers win, 4-0, over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes. ... Mike Fisher's(notes) deflection of Chris Phillips'(notes) pass gave him his 10th goal of the season and the Ottawa Senators a 4-3 overtime win over the Washington Capitals. The Sens have won four in a row, rallying from a 3-1 deficit. ... Nathan Horton's(notes) errant stick earned him a minor penalty in overtime for the Florida Panthers, and Sidney Crosby(notes) cashed in a rebound off Evgeni Malkin's(notes) shot for 3-2 win for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Thomas Vokoun had 42 saves for the Panthers in their fancy new uniforms. ... Martin Erat(notes) scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Nashville Predators won their sixth in a row with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Pekka Rinne(notes) turned away 16 shots in the third. ... Jamie Benn(notes) and Brad Richards(notes) scored power-play goals and Marty Turco(notes) turned back 22 shots for a 2-0 Dallas Stars win over the Carolina Hurricanes. ... David Jones(notes) had two goals and Craig Anderson(notes) needed to make 17 saves in the third to preserve a 5-4 Colorado Avalanche victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Danny Briere(notes) had a four-point (2 goals, 2 assists) night for the Flyers. ... Jarome Iginla's(notes) goal with 18 seconds left tied the game, but the Anaheim Ducks won in the shootout on a Teemu Selanne(notes) goal, 3-2. Jean-Sebastien Giguere(notes) made 41 saves for his first win of the season. ... Finally, Brian McGrattan(notes) overcame his awful hair with a giant punch that knocked down George Parros(notes).

Did you know?: Corey Perry(notes) extended his point-scoring streak to 15 games with an assist against the Flames.

Dishonorable mention: Pascal Leclaire's(notes) tremendous good luck continued, as the injured Senators goalie was hit in the jaw by a deflected puck on the Ottawa bench, forcing him to the locker room. ... Rick Nash(notes) was a minus-4 with zero points for Columbus. ... After Steve Mason(notes) was pulled following four goals on 18 shots, the Rangers scored on their first two shots against Mathieu Garon(notes). ... Ray Emery(notes) was yanked by the Flyers after yielding four goals on 17 shots ... Finally, an odd scene in which Vesa Toskala(notes) appeared to ask out of the Leafs' game after giving up three goals on 15 shots turned out to be a groin injury that forced him out in favor of Jonas Gustavsson(notes). Who knew deafening boos could injure one's groin?

Unless Colin Campbell and Co. needed nearly a full business day after Laraque's morning hearing to deliver a verdict, it's your classic end-of-day dump for news that's bound to be vetted, debated and decried by a great numbers of fans and pundits.

EJ Hradek of ESPN wrote that "if the league wants to clean up these types of plays, they can send a message by tagging Laraque with a double-digit suspension." Adam Proteau of The Hockey News wanted an example made of Laraque:

Time has taught us to expect the NHL will abdicate its responsibilities in providing a reasonably safe workplace through the application of supplementary discipline. But if the league ever did decide to grow a pair and use Laraque as the cautionary tale that makes players think twice before reacting knee-first, fist-first, head-first, skate-first or butt-end-of-the-stick-first, I'd break out a line in all seriousness that I don't normally use unless there's extreme sarcasm involved: Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The outrage from Red Wings fans on this is justified, because they saw some fourth-line goon take out a guy who's fourth in average ice time (21:18)  for Detroit and an essential part of their blue line. I'm not one who believes in the eye-for-an-eye Wheel of Discipline, so the duration of Kronwall's injury is immaterial to me. The intent of Laraque to injure him isn't; neither are Laraque's previous offenses. Based solely on that, Laraque deserved more than five games.

But not because the NHL needed to make "an example" of Laraque.

Intentional knee-on-knee hits aren't the epidemic hits to the head are. They're illegal and injurious. They'll always be illegal and injurious. And they'll always be suspendable. Whatever Laraque was given here, it wasn't going to deter someone from doing it again.

Hits to the head, open-ice blindside hits ... if you want them out of the NHL, then legislation and/or supplemental discipline can actually make a difference at this point in history. But a suspension for a knee-on-knee hit isn't a deterrent against the actions of other players; it's keeping a cheap-shot artist off the ice, if only for a few nights.

Preview: Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. EST. OK, so a three-game winning streak isn't exactly shattering NHL records. But for two underperforming teams like the B's and Blues, it's a pretty big deal, and one of them will have a three-gamer for the first time this season after tonight. Marc Savard(notes)? In! Tim Thomas(notes)? Backup! T.J Oshie's dad? Still blogging!

Preview: New York Islanders at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. A bittersweet moment, as the savior of the Maple Leafs franchise steps onto Air Canada Centre ice wearing some other team's jersey.

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Colorado Avalanche, 9 p.m. It's the triumphant return of fan favorite Ian Laperriere(notes) to Denver. The Avs are on a 3-6-1 plummet while the Flyers have lost their last two on the road. Mile High Hockey sets the bar for the home team" If the Avalanche lose in regulation tonight, they could get passed by as many as 3 teams in the standings (Columbus, Calgary and Phoenix)." Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• If you'd like to know who the Player of the Decade was for the 2000s, you may want to check back here in the morning.

• Five games for Georges Laraque(notes). More in a bit on this. [TSN]

• In a trade that threatens to create a vowel shortage on the new wire, the Minnesota Wild traded Benoit Pouliot(notes) to the Montreal Canadiens for left wing Guillaume Latendresse(notes). The latter player is already excited to meet the Minnesota media, which is usually a sentiment shared by Habs players who don't live up to their potential in Montreal. Now watch him become the next Mike Ribeiro(notes) ... [AP]

• Finally, Sergei Kostitsyn(notes) has come back to Montreal. [Habs]

• Analyzing the Peter Mueller(notes) trade rumors that made the rounds on the HNIC Hot Stove. [Five For Howling]

• Elliotte Friedman's massive column with the 30 items at the end really is one of the best reads in hockey every week. [CBC Sports]

• Interesting moves in the NCAA concerning Michigan, as Robbie Czarnik leaves for the Plymouth Whalers and goaltending recruit Jack Campbell appears headed for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL "at some point." [WCHB]

• The Tampa Bay Lightning are getting in on the Black Friday sales. Not in, like, a half-off Ryan Malone(notes) kind of way; in a ticket kind of way. [Raw Charge]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: From 'CC' in the Puck Headlines today -

I think I speak for millions when I say that whatever other lousy things happen to me today, I can fall back on having seen "Bettman" and "resign" in the same sentence.

Amen to that.

Bold Prediction: Florida beats Pittsburgh in the Panthers' spiffy new uniforms.

Ryan's an RFA next summer, looking for a raise after his entry level contract expires. He's followed his Calder-quality rookie campaign with 15 points in 21 games this season; a decent total on a disappointing hockey team, but no where near the pace of linemates Ryan Getzlaf(notes) (22 points) and Corey Perry(notes) (27 points, and a criminally underreported 14-game scoring streak that has him tied for fifth in the League in points.)

But as an RFA on the team that drafted him, Ryan's leaving Anaheim doesn't seem all that likely, as least to someone following the Ducks from the other coast. That was until OC Register columnist Randy Youngman dropped this nugget at the end of a column on Sunday night:

If the Ducks continue to struggle, most likely trade bait will be forward Bobby Ryan, who has been inconsistent this season (15 points in 21 games) after contending for NHL Rookie of the Year honors last season.

Trade bait? When Anaheim Calling did its "who are the scouts looking at on the Ducks?" post last week, Ryan's name didn't come up. The notion that the Ducks would move him, even as their season slips deeper into mediocrity, hasn't exactly been voiced all that often -- well, until now.

Still, the suggestion gets you wondering ... would the Ducks be better off trading Ryan, with his value still relatively high and before having to commit significant salary (and years) to a player that's gone from failing to meet expectations to becoming a future NHL start to failing to meet expectations again?

If the Ducks need to seriously retool, is trading Bobby Ryan one way to dramatically achieve that goal?

It's hard to see Ryan leaving the Ducks for financial reasons. But we're sure the same was said about Chris Pronger(notes) as some point in the recent past, too ... and now he's on the verge of an "historic" Norris Trophy bid.

Puck Buddy Will, a.k.a. "hockeymaster4789" (sounds like a cyborg Lou Lamoriello unleashes to make players with fat contracts disappear) decided to waste the better part of a morning to meet that challenge, a least for the last two seasons.

What he found are a couple of examples in which a player in the penalty box at the end of the 4-on-4 helped win the game for his team in the shootout; and yes, one of those examples is a certain goaltender for the Dallas Stars pictured here.

Here's what Will found for the 2009-10 season:

When the winning team ended the game a man down:

October 31: Florida 6, Dallas 5 - Bryan McCabe(notes) for elbowing, Rostislav Olesz(notes) wins it.

When the losing team ended the game a man down:

November 21: Nashville 4, CLB 3 - Rick Nash(notes) for hooking, David Legwand(notes) wins it.
November 12: DAL 3, San Jose 2 - Kent Huskins(notes) for hooking, Stephane Robidas(notes) wins it.
November 11: Chicago 3, Colorado 2 - Wojtek Wolski(notes) for cross checking, Patrick Sharp(notes) wins it.
October 30: Pittsburgh 4, CLB 3 - Jakub Voracek(notes) for hooking, Sidney Crosby(notes) wins it.
October 24: Boston 4, Ottawa 3 - Anton Volchenkov(notes) for tripping, Patrice Bergeron(notes) wins it.
October 20: Montreal 2, Atlanta 1 - Slava Kozlov(notes), 5-min major for checking from behind, Scott Gomez(notes) wins it.
October 6: Carolina 2, Tampa Bay 1 - David Hale(notes) for tripping, Sergei Samsonov(notes) wins it.

For 2008-09:

When the winning team ended the game a man down:

April 11: PHX 5, ANA 4 - Shane Doan(notes) for holding (actually, Andrew Ebbett(notes) was already in the box for tripping, so it would have been 3-on-3), Viktor Tikhonov(notes) wins it.
April 8: CBJ 4, CHI 3 - Fedor Tyutin(notes) for hooking, Fedor Tyutin wins it.
March 24: TOR 3, WSH 2 - Pavel Kubina(notes) for hooking, Jeff Hamilton(notes) wins it.
March 19: ANA 3, PHX 2 - Chris Pronger(notes) for holding, Bobby Ryan(notes) wins it.
February 24: LAK 2, MIN 1 - Sean O'Donnell(notes) for slashing, Drew Doughty(notes) wins it.
February 16: DAL 3, CBJ 2 - Marty Turco(notes) for tripping, James Neal(notes) wins it, Marty Turco in net.
January 21: BOS 4, TOR 3 - Martin St. Pierre(notes) for tripping, Michael Ryder(notes) wins it.
December 11: PHI 6, CAR 5 - Philadelphia bench minor for too many men, Simon Gagne(notes) wins it.
November 18: MIN 2, PIT 1 - Brent Burns(notes) for high-sticking, Marek Zidlicky(notes) wins it.
November 8: PIT 4, NYI 3 - Mike Zigomanis(notes) for high-sticking (double minor), Petr Sykora(notes) wins it.
October 21: BUF 3, BOS 2 - Teppo Numminen(notes) for hooking, Thomas Vanek(notes) wins it.
October 20: PIT 2, BOS 1 - Jordan Staal(notes) for slashing (Marc Savard(notes) was already in the box for hooking, so it would have been 3-on-3), Evgeni Malkin(notes) wins it.
October 10: BUF 2, MTL 1 - Jaroslav Spacek(notes) for tripping, Ales Kotalik(notes) wins it.

When the losing team ended the game a man down:

April 9: NSH 4, DET 3 - Henrik Zetterberg(notes) for hooking, Jason Arnott(notes) wins it.
February 14: EDM 3, LAK 2 - Jack Johnson(notes) for hooking, Sam Gagner(notes) wins it.
February 13: BUF 6, SJS 5 - Christian Ehrhoff(notes) for kneeing AND Marc-Edouard Vlasic(notes) for slashing, Derek Roy(notes) wins it.
February 10: LAK 4, NYI 3 - Bill Guerin(notes) for hooking, Jack Johnson wins it.
November 18: CHI 3, PHX 2 - Ed Jovanovski(notes) for high-sticking, Jonathan Toews(notes) wins it.
November 12: COL 2, VAN 1 - Alexander Edler(notes) for hooking, Marek Svatos(notes) wins it.
November 7: CBJ 4, MTL 3 - Tomas Plekanec(notes) for hooking, Kristian Huselius(notes) wins it.
October 18: MIN 1, TBL 0 - Andrej Meszaros(notes) for hooking, Antti Mietten wins it.
October 17: NYR 1, TOR 0 - Mikhail Grabovski(notes) for hooking, Fredrik Sjostrom(notes) wins it.
October 13: STL 5, TOR 4 - Pavel Kubina for tripping, Brad Boyes(notes) wins it.

If penalties carried over to the shootout, there would have been some pretty good players that wouldn't have been options in the skills competition. Zetterberg, like Nash on Saturday, had his shootout attempt against Pekka Rinne(notes) and the Nashville Predators despite the penalty (though he was unsuccessful).

On the other hand, it appears the majority of the penalized players were defensemen, and ones that aren't exactly known for their shootout prowess. (No disrespect intended to Sean O'Donnell.)

Thanks to Will for his quick (and god-willing, accurate) research. The bottom line: Close the loophole on this shootout oversight. That this situation played out 23 times last seasonis reason enough to address it.

• Fancy pants! George Richards gives us a teaser of what the new Florida Panthers third jerseys will look like by showing us their spiffy new bottoms. The new duds are set to debut this evening. [On Frozen Pond]

• Georges Laraque(notes) had his hearing with the NHL this morning for his knee-on-knee hit with Niklas Kronwall(notes) that'll sideline the Detroit Red Wings defenseman for at least a month. According to TSN: "Because the meeting was still considered an in-person hearing by the NHL, the league can suspend Laraque five or more games if it so chooses." [TSN]

• Brian Burke appears willing to take veteran defenseman Brent Sopel's(notes) contract from the Chicago Blackhawks, provided the 'Hawks kick in a draft pick in the salary dump. Spector has more on Fadoo. [Globe & Mail and Toronto Sun]

• San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton(notes), Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price(notes) and Ottawa Senators center Mike Fisher(notes) have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Nov. 22. [NHL]

• Speaking of Fisher, he had an interesting chat with the Sun about his celebrity relationship with Carrie Underwood, ranging from marriage plans to Regis Philbin calling him a "good-looking brute." Which has to be somewhat life-fulfilling. [Sun Media]

• Making excuses for the Ottawa Senators' attendance issues this season. [Cornwall Standard]

• NHL Fan Association co-founder Jim Boone has asked Gary Bettman to resign in an open letter to The Hockey News, and for some reason it's getting some play today. It's sarcastic "go out on top" tone clashes with its occasional indictments of his tenure as commissioner, making it ineffective as a call to action. The logic behind the NHL becoming as chaotic at the top as the NHLPA for the sake of labor peace is lost on us. But hey, give it read; maybe you think it's the rhetorical right hook to the jaw that could be delivered three dozen ways based on Gary's fumbles. [THN]

• Preparing for the glories of "Uwe Krupp Night" at the Pepsi Center for the Colorado Avalanche. He played three seasons with that Avs; or nearly two more than that No. 77 hanging from the rafters. [All Things Avs]

• Mike Rathje(notes) and the humungous salary cap loophole Puck Stops Here believes the Philadelphia Flyers continue to exploit. [TPSH]

• Looking at Daniel Carcillo's(notes) first 40 games with the Flyers. After a rocky start, he's starting to come along. And no, we didn't go with "Rocky start" because of Philly. [The 700 Level]

• Markus Naslund(notes) on returning from retirement to help "save" Modo in Sweden: "They were in dead last place and they were struggling financially. It's just one of those things where both me and Peter felt that it was a good thing to do." [CP]

• Fun with stats: "Because of the vagaries of the NHL's OT/SO system, even though Montreal has played just as badly as Toronto, they're tied for 8th in the East with 23 points, while Toronto's in last place with 14 points." [Behind The Net]

• The Edmonton Oilers are falling into bad habits, and Pat Quinn is not a happy man: "You don't have to be a giant to play hard in this game and we had some guys that didn't work very hard. It's evident, they can all see it ... If we learned from that and say 'I'm going to make some changes,' then we have a chance. But we abandoned the game plan, we lay a game plan out and we go where they want. 'Breakouts?' We're too skilled to worry about getting in the right spots, 'I'll just take the puck around myself, and oops, by the way I turned it over.' It was an awful easy game for them (Blackhawks) to play tonight." [Sun Media]

• Jay Feaster gets p'wned. [Five Hole Fanatics]

• From the Images We Found While Searching for All-Decade Art Dept: "PHILADELPHIA - MAY 02: A fan of the take a ride on the Zamboni during the game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres in game six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2006 NHL playoffs on May 2, 2006 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Sabres defeated the Flyers 7-1 and advance to the Semifinals." A.K.A. the most outstanding duo for the Flyers since Lindros and LeClair. [Len Redkoles/Getty Images]

• Phoenix Coyotes Assistant General Manager Brad Treliving announced today that the Club has relieved Greg Ireland of his head coaching duties with the San Antonio Rampage, the Coyotes' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, effective immediately. [Coyotes]

• Should the Carolina Hurricanes move Eric Staal(notes) to the wing when he returns? And if so, will he call Jordan in Pittsburgh to learn about the effectiveness of guys named Staal playing out an unnatural position? [Canes Country]

• Bruce Boudreau isn't looking to use injuries as a crutch for the Washington Capitals' recent struggles. [Capitals Insider]

• Steve Begin(notes) of the Boston Bruins recalls the "freaking cold" that was the Heritage Classic in preparation for the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway. [NHL]

• As he does so well, George Malik collects your NHLPA news and views from the weekend. [Snapshots]

• Crap-tastic news for Minnesota Wild fans: Brent Burns(notes) has another concussion. [Russo]

• Finally, a goal controversy from the NCAA ranks, as North Dakota's Brad Malone appeared to tie the game against Denver but the goal was waived off. Well not so much a controversy as a reminder that for all the "intent to blow" stuff from last weel, replay still serves a purpose. [WCHB]

But our therapist keeps asking us to learn to live with the shootout, so we've offered some suggestions here and there to improve it.

Sometimes it's about increasing the fun factor, like the "superstar provision" discussed recently. Other times, it's bringing some level of competitive fairness to the proceedings, like our contention that the NHL should increase it to five shooters for each side.

But there's a complete, total, absolute, change the League should have already made to its overtime format but hasn't; something that was on display in the Columbus Blue Jackets' game against the Nashville Predators over the weekend.

Why are players serving penalties at the end of the 4-on-4 OT allowed to participate in the shootout?

Puck Buddy Cory S. explains:

At the end of OT, Rick Nash(notes) still had time left in his penalty but was allowed to participate in the shoot out?

Now, I am by no means a fan of team games being decided in a shootout (that's another ongoing debate), and of course the fans/League want to see their stars on the ice for the shootout, but I have to say I think its highly unfair for a player who has been penalized to still be allowed to have a turn in the shootout when his penalty has not yet expired. In this case, it had no impact on the outcome, but surely it would have left a rather bad taste in the Preds fans mouths had Nash scored the winner. It would be interesting to see just how many penalized players with time remaining to serve have then gone out to score in the shoot out.

Well, until we find some poor college kid to be a Puck Daddy intern, no dice on that research project. But Cory's main point stands: Why should Nash, one of the Jackets' most lethal shootout performers who ended up scoring against Pekka Rinne(notes) on Saturday night, be allowed to participate if he's technically still in the box? It's just another oversight that pushes the shootout from a reasonable mechanism for determining a winner into a sideshow.

Why hasn't this been addressed by the League? As Cory notes, the NHL wants Rick Nash in the highlight reel, so why endorse something that would keep him out, right? Stu Hackel of the New York Times wrote about this loophole in our "5 Ways I'd Change The NHL" feature last summer, and suggested a compromise:

The offending player could end up being a shootout hero who has escaped serving a full penalty because, chances are, the guy who committed the penalty is pretty good or he wouldn't be on the ice in that situation. So if a minor penalty occurs inside the last two minutes, the offending player and his team should still be penalized by making the fouling player be the last guy in line to take part in the shootout for his team.

How about this instead: If a player is serving a minor penalty at the end of the 4-on-4 OT, he has to sit out the first three rounds of the shootout but can participate if it goes beyond that. If he's serving a major (a rarity in OT), he can't participate at all.

Either way, it's a simple change that should be made; but since neither the players nor the GMs have any intangible reason to lobby for it, we're guessing it won't be made.

Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

Prior to the start of the season, everyone was just brimming with optimism. Hockey was, after what felt like a painfully long summer, almost back. The glee was palpable.

As so many pundits do, I made what I called 20 bold predictions (where "bold" usually either meant "sarcastic" or "painfully obvious" but occasionally bordered on "somewhat daring").

Now that every team in the league has played at least 20 games and we're more than a quarter of the way through the season, I figure it's as good a time as any to see how those predictions are coming along.

My guess: Not well. Feel free to hold me accountable.

[Coming up: Your ol' pal Lambert looks at his miserable failures, Anaheim needs to hire new doctors, Kyle Okposo(notes) loves him some mediocre AHL players, the best ever fight between two French Canadians, St. Louis will keep but maybe not keep Alex Pietrangelo(notes) (I swear), Rick Nash(notes) goes on a European Vacation, the top 10 reasons it hurts to watch the Avs, and Evgeni Nabokov(notes) doesn't like your line of questioning.]

1. John Tavares(notes) will be a big disappointment and only score 40 points.

I got chirped on Twitter for this prediction a week or so ago. The kid is by far the Isles' best player and has 19 points from 23 games. Great call, stupid.

2. The Coyotes will make the playoffs but the Ducks won't.

The Ducks are 15th in the West, the Coyotes are tied for sixth, and just two points out of third. Lookin' good on this one.

3. Someone actually challenges Alex Ovechkin(notes) for the Rocket Richard.

Granted Ovie's missed some time, but Dany Heatley(notes) leads him by two (18 to 16), Marian Gaborik(notes), Jarome Iginla(notes) and like five other guys are within three of him

4. Vesa Toskala(notes) gets his job taken from him before November. Possibly by a koala.

His line is 3.82/.869. Enough said.

5. Alex Kovalev's(notes) stay in Ottawa is an unmitigated disaster.

He has the same number of goals and one more point than Jarkko Ruutu(notes). You figure it out.       

6. Brent Sutter will strangle Dion Phaneuf(notes) to death, or at least decrease his minutes significantly.

They got in a shouting match last week, so it counts!

7. The Lightning will still be really bad.

If the season ended today, they'd have a playoff spot, and that's with Vinny Lecavalier being genuinely bad for most of the season. D'oh.

8. Mike Green(notes) will win the Norris despite his haircut getting progressively worse throughout the season.

He leads defensemen in points and he's not a minus-12 or something. Chris Pronger(notes) has probably been the best defenseman in the league (18 points, plus-13, dragging Matt Carle(notes) kicking and screaming along with him), so count this as a loss, I guess? You tell me.

9. Marian Gaborik will miss at least half the season (I didn't say it had to be a shocking prediction).

He's only missed two of 22. That's not half, but I still have time here. Too early to tell but a loss for now.

10. Patrick Kane(notes) will beat up an airline pilot, a train conductor and ship captain and help the Blackhawks win the division. Meanwhile Jonathan Toews(notes) will make a series of hilarious faces.

Patty's been on his best behavior, but I present this in defense of my Toews predication:

Also the Blackhawks are killing it. Good call by me.

11. The Flyers will set a franchise low in match penalties (with 128).

I looked at all their box scores and I didn't see any yet this year. Crazy!

12. Cal Clutterbuck(notes) will finally dump the visor to earn Don Cherry's respect.

Looks like this isn't going to happen. Sissy.

13. Dany Heatley will lead the league in power play goals and make the Sharks power play hum along at 26 percent.

He's got a two-goal lead over Gaborik (9 to 7) to pace the NHL, and the Sharks' power play is currently at 25.5 percent. I'm very proud of myself for this ultra-specific guess.

14. Regardless of how well the season finishes, Red Wings fans will be aggrieved by some perceived slight.

Ask a certain G. Wyshynski about this one.

15. Bob Gainey will get the ol' heave-ho.

Hasn't happened yet but it's looking possible. I feel good about this one certainly, but it's a push for now.

16. Mike Comrie(notes) will have a pretty good year, like 60 points or something.

Comrie had eight points in 16 games (so on pace for 41 then), but now he has mono and will probably miss significant time as a result. Oops.

17. Buffalo will miss the playoffs and both Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier will be fired. No, I'm kidding, of course they won't be fired.

Buffalo doesn't look especially likely to miss the playoffs, no.

18. Evgeni Malkin(notes) will walk away with the league lead in points. Sid Crosby will barely crack 90 like the lay-about that he is.

Geno's not exactly swimming in points (19 in 16 games), but Crosby's on pace for less than 80. Push.

19. Marty Turco(notes) will cost an otherwise good Dallas team a playoff spot, and will keep his starting job regardless.

Dallas isn't bad or anything (though they are currently out of the playoffs on a tiebreaker), and Turco's only playing so-so hockey. Wanna call this one a push?

20.  The Central will be the best division in hockey.

The Atlantic, Northeast, Pacific and Central all have three teams in the playoffs, so I guess not. And the Atlantic is the only one without a team in the bottom five. Make of that what you will.

Anyway, I counted it all up and I'm considering myself 8-8-4. I'll take .500.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: So Ryan Carter(notes) missed four games with a bruised foot and didn't seem to be getting better. They ran a second x-ray and found out the foot was broken. He's out another month. But it begs the question: How the hell did the first x-ray miss a fracture?

Atlanta Thrashers: After Matt Cooke(notes) clearly slew-footed (sleeeeeeeew) Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) on Saturday, the two fought, but Kovalchuk was given the instigator penalty and the gate. He picked up 19 penalty minutes on the play. The Thrashers got a late goal, but they ended up losing 3-2.

Boston Bruins: Great news for the Bruins -- Marc Savard(notes) should be back tonight after missing five weeks with a broken bone in his foot. And that extension should be signed this week.

Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres got pretty well trounced by the Senators on Saturday, sure. But things aren't so bad, at least not now. This is the first time they've had a three-game losing streak this season, and one of those was in OT. It's not all doom and gloom just yet is my point.

Calgary Flames: I'm not sure what's more amazing. That Jarome Iginla has 12 goals in his last nine games and is two off the league lead after a sluggish, ineffectual start, or that the Flames are 7-1-2 on the road despite being utter dross at home.

Carolina Hurricanes: What'd I tell you last week? The Canes have either won or gotten a loser point in four straight. Oh yeah, it's all turning around.

Chicago Blackhawks: I'm saying it right now -- This is the best team in the league. They've won their last seven games, scoring 27 goals and allowing just 11. Their wins over both Calgary and Edmonton Thursday and Saturday were effortless. Effortless I say!

Colorado Avalanche: This list of the top 10 reasons the Avs game was brutal to watch made me laugh. "7. Chris Stewart(notes): 0 shots in the last 4 games. That's an average of roughly zero per game." Perfect.

Columbus Blue Jackets: It's been confirmed that the Blue Jackets have been offered one of the slots to play in Europe at the start of next season.

Dallas Stars: Stephane Robidas(notes) had some kinda night Saturday. Two goals, two assists. That's a career high for points in a game. He also had eight hits(!) and two blocked shots. Brad Richards(notes), meanwhile, only had four assists. What a bum.

Detroit Red Wings: Remember how people thought Pavel Datsyuk(notes) was having a bit of an off season and had a slow start and all that? Yeah, he has 16 points in his last 14 games, including a goal and a shootout winner on Saturday.

Edmonton Oilers: Here's how bad it got in Edmonton Saturday night -- Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers gave up three goals on the first six shots he faced, and some were actually wondering if he'd get the hook. Why that's strange: The Oilers were without Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) and had to call up Torrie Jung, a goalie from the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings. Jung's stats? He's 5-11 with a 3.29 GAA and a .903 save percentage.

Florida Panthers: How's this for a turnaround? Florida won two of its first 10 games, and is now on a hot streak, winning eight of 11, including beating the Red Wings, Sabres and Rangers to get above .500.

Los Angeles Kings: Speaking of turnarounds, the Kings went from pretty damn good to losing five of eight in a hurry. Terry Murray's solution to this problem is a long, hard practice. No days off if you're playing like garbage, I guess.

Minnesota Wild: It's very strange that Andrew Ebbett(notes) gets put on waivers so often. Granted he has jut one point this season, but the Wild are Ebbett's third team this season already. He scored 32 in 48 with Anaheim last year, he's defensively responsible and he's a center. What's not to like about the guy?

Montreal Canadiens: This is a very Georges Laraque(notes)-type shift right here. High-stick a guy in the mouth? Check. Knee-on-knee hit? Check. He's getting suspended for sure.

Nashville Predators: David Legwand(notes) had a good Saturday. Goal, assist, shootout winner, and a son. Aces.

New Jersey Devils: So decimated by injuries are the Devs (I can think of five off the top of my head) that defenseman Matt Corrente got his first game in the NHL on Saturday, but not on defense. The Devils dressed seven defensemen in the game, which is why Corrente got a go at right wing.

New York Islanders: It's not every day that a sensational young forward like Kyle Okposo goes far out of his way to praise a 36-year-old career AHL journeyman, but the kid falls all over himself to praise Mark Wotton of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Sounds like the guy made a hell of an impact on Okposo in just half a season. Great to have guys like that in the organization.

New York Rangers: It says here that the Rangers lose all the time because they lack passion. If true, that's on John Tortorella, who should be able to pump the boys up more than, say, a Tom Renney did.

Ottawa Senators: Gotta wonder how long Pascal Leclaire(notes) will be out after getting hurt in the second period on Saturday. They say he's "sore" but they said that about Alex Ovechkin too, so who knows? If he misses even a week, that's not going to be very helpful to the Sens.

Philadelphia Flyers: What a heavyweight tilt on Friday night. Briere. Vlasic. Should've headlined UFC106.

Phoenix Coyotes: Dave Tippett likes rewarding good play with additional ice time. This is apparently some sort of novel approach to hockey.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Pens' new arena is coming along swimmingly.

San Jose Sharks: Someone was dumb enough to ask Evgeni Nabokov if beating the Ducks on Saturday made it any easier to swallow losing to them in the first round after winning the Presidents Trophy. "Thanks for the reminder. So what does it mean?" Nabokov said. "Honestly, I don't like those questions." Noooooo kidding.

St. Louis Blues: "Alex Pietrangelo is here to stay, but it's not guaranteed he will stay." That is one confusing lede that basically means the Blues will keep him around so that his rookie clock starts after he plays his 10th game. But they might send him back to juniors at any point. Or something. I dunno.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Said Rick Tocchet of Zenon Konopka(notes), who hasn't score a goal in three seasons and is without a point this season but has apparently been positioning himself well and just not finding the net: "I don't think he's a natural goal scorer." That's why he gets big money.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Some Leafs fans are wondering just when, exactly, Brian Burke is going to start calling up some kids to get them time in the NHL. Y'know, since they're not going to make the playoffs anyway.

Vancouver Canucks: Hooray, Daniel Sedin(notes) is back!

Washington Capitals: Bruce Boudreau admitted Alex Ovechkin came back from his shoulder injury too early, and said Ovie would play better come the Ottawa game tonight. Well, I'd hope so.

Play of the Weekend

You saw it yesterday. You'll see it again at the end of the season. So why not watch it once more before then?

David Perron(notes) what is up? (By the way, Stamkos' was better.)

Gold Star Award

Dany Heatley and Joe Thornton(notes) combined for five goals and six assists this weekend. The Sharks won twice. That'll work, eh?

Minus of the Weekend

What's going on with the Caps? Losses to Montreal and freaking Toronto? Only three goals in those games? That's not how you win a division. I wouldn't have guessed playing without Alex Semin would hurt that badly.

Perfect HFBoards trade proposal of the week

User coolbean04 really wants to pry Eric Staal(notes) from the Hurricanes so he can.. ahem, help the Rangers.

Dubinsky, Sanguinetti, a 1st round pick (say it's around 10th overall)

This is contingent on the Rangers finding someone to take Michal Roszival off their hands. Good luck with that.

Start with the misdemeanors and then we're gonna push right on through to the lighter treasons.

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness pretty much every day over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don't you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.

No. 1 star: Steven Stamkos(notes), Tampa Bay Lightning

The 2008 No. 1 overall pick continued his breakout year as his 15th goal of the season in overtime gave the Lightning a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Currently tied for fourth in the NHL in goals scored with Jarome Iginla(notes), Stamkos, along with Ryan Malone(notes), is carrying the Lightning offensive load as Vincent Lecavalier(notes) and Martin St. Louis(notes) struggle with a combined nine goals. 

No. 2 Star: Antti Niemi(notes), Chicago Blackhawks

The 26-year old Finn backstopped the 'Hawks to a 1-0 win in Vancouver by making 30 saves for his second shutout of the season. Chicago swept the Western Canadian portion of their roadtrip and will finish things up with three games in California beginning Wednesday at Anaheim. With the win, Niemi improves to 4-1-1 on the season.

No. 3 Star: Antero Niittymaki(notes), Tampa Bay Lightning

Making 28 saves on the evening, Niittymaki won his sixth game of the season and his 15th straight over a Southeast Division opponent. Atlanta rallied back with three goals in the third period, but was unable to record a shot in overtime before Stamkos won it. Niittymaki currently owns the NHL's best save-percentage at .936.

Honorable mention: Martin St. Louis had three assists including one on Stamkos' overtime winner ... Stephane Veilleux(notes) and Kurtis Foster(notes) both scored their first goals of the season for the Lightning ...  Evander Kane's(notes) seventh goal for Atlanta puts him in second place behind New York Islanders forward John Tavares(notes) among rookies ...  Bryan Bickell(notes) scored the winner for Chicago 1:12 into the third period. It was his first goal in over two years ... Roberto Luongo(notes) did all he could for the Canucks making 16 saves, but was let down by his offense ... Ben Eager(notes) and Rick Rypien(notes) discussed the MLS Cup Final in their own special way:

Did you know?: With his win against Atlanta, Niittymaki is now 15-0-0 against the Thrashers in his career. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Atlanta ended their homestand by losing their last three games ... Not a good weekend for Thrashers captain Ilya Kovalchuk(notes). A day after earning 19-penalty minutes against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kovy couldn't beat Niittymaki on seven shots and finished a minus-3 ...  Even with the win, Joel Quenneville couldn't have been happy that the Blackhawks were 16-for-42 in the faceoff circle.

He returned on Nov. 9; the Blackhawks haven't lost a game since then.

So they roll into Vancouver tonight to face a Canucks team that's won two in a row and gets Daniel Sedin(notes) back from injury to play on a line with brother Henrik and Alex Burrows(notes).

It's a heck of a matchup between two increasingly bitter conference rivals -- and hey, you can watch the game live via Hockey Night on Y! -- but that's taken a back seat to Toews vs. Mitchell in the pregame hype.

From the Chicago Tribune:

"I'm not looking for any retribution," Toews said. "I want to play a great game and show them something like that isn't going to change the way I play."

The Oct. 21 hit at center ice was considered clean, but it upset many of the Hawks and afterward several indicated they would remember it the next time the teams played.

Coach Joel Quenneville doesn't expect his team to respond drastically. "Our priority will be to win the hockey game and nothing else," Quenneville said. "Getting even on the scoreboard is the best way to get even."

The Canucks expect much the same, via Canwest:

"It's just hockey, it was on the ice, it was a clean hit," said Mitchell, who's spoken to Toews since the incident. "Ask Jon about it, he'll tell you that, too."

Head coach Alain Vigneault said he thought the two teams will have more pressing business Sunday night.

"At the end of the day that was just a clean hit," said Vigneault. "It was a hockey hit. There was no intent to injure on Willie's part. It was just part of the game. Our focus is going to be on two points and I think that's what their focus is going to be on."

Sure. Two points. Just win the game. Not like there's any previous bad blood between these teams, right? Should be fun.

If you read the Puck Headlines every weekday, you've no doubt seen Ryan Kennedy's name before. He's a writer and editor at The Hockey News, and one of those columnists that will generally provide a take on the League's big issues and players that hasn't already been regurgitated throughout the rest of the media. Which is a good thing.

He's also a gear-obsessed, hockey culture guy; his latest venture at THN is a special lifestyle magazine called Fully Loaded, which features the best in hockey streetwear, NHL gear and hockey equipment.

Good writer, good dude. Here are five reasons why Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News loves hockey:

1. Fighting

We have a very tight-knit crew in the offices of THN, but nothing sets off the screaming like the fighting debate. As one of the resident hawks (it's not hard to figure out who the doves are), I maintain that fighting is part of the fabric of the game. Sure, maybe the sport can survive without it, but we all grew up watching fights and that's how we fell in love with the sport. It would be like taking the cheating and dullness out of soccer.

Plus, I just like it.

I love watching fights, and I YouTube them almost every morning. In the us-against-them current that runs through sports, only hockey really comes through in terms of avenging perceived evils against your favorite squad. The instant justice of Wendel Clark destroying Marty McSorley in the 1993 Western Conference final after McSorley's elbow on Doug Gilmour is one of the highlights of my hockey-watching youth.

2. The World of Hockey

Researching Europe for various projects leads to a never-ending source of unintentional comedy, generally provided by Google translator. Alex Ovechkin(notes) had 13 washers in his final year with Moscow Dynamo. Kitchener's Gabriel Landeskog is listed on native Swedish websites as "Gabriel County Forest." Karpat Oulu's cheerleaders are known as the 'Baby Beasts," while KHL St. Petersburg fans are entertained by the "Soul Sisters." Also, there's a team in Latvia called ASK Ogre. Not even a Google translator on that one; that's just what they're called (Ogre is a city).

3. Jerseys

As the resident 'Jersey Hound' at THN, I give a shout-out to a different team sweater every issue and the research for that is very fun. The hockey sweater provides the best canvas of any pro uniform and now that we're out of the pastels from the end of the 20th century, teams are generally looking good.

In my searches, I've found a Chicago Black Hawks sweater so old it doesn't even have red in it, the first-ever Boston Bruins jersey (it's brown, not black) and a picture of Martin Brodeur(notes) rocking a Utica Devils (AHL) uni.

Also, as I point out every time I get the chance, I tracked down a picture of the Springfield Indians jersey Snoop Dogg wore in the "Gin and Juice" video -- a jersey so rare because the Indians were only affiliated with the Hartford Whalers for a short time, and the Whalers only went to darker colors (which influenced the Springfield jersey) for a shorter time.

The fact Snoop Dogg wore that particular sweater practically bends the cosmos in terms of probability.

4. Maple Leaf Gardens

It really was something to experience. Even as a child my knees went flush against the railing in front of my seat and the trough bathrooms were an intimidating prospect. But what I'll never forget (besides a lot of losses and moustaches) is that brief time in history when smoking was banned, but not in the stairwells between floors. That meant that as soon as you turned the corner, an almost literal wall of cigarette smoke would confront you as you made your way up or down. Since I was still a kid, I'm glad smoke rises. I also bootleg recorded a Nine Inch Nails concert there in Grade 10.

5. Working at The Hockey News

At this point, I've literally interviewed hundreds of NHLers. Lil Jon called my house. Don Cherry left a message. I've talked metal with Jere Lehtinen(notes) and Drew Stafford(notes). I've been to every rink in the Northeast Division, plus Detroit and Pittsburgh, where I covered Game 6 of the final last year. I've seen games in the WHL, OHL and AHL. I saw Steven Stamkos(notes) and John Tavares(notes) face off in junior and watched Drew Doughty(notes) single-handedly end a game in Guelph on an end-to-end solo rush with six seconds left.

I know I have one of the best jobs in the world, which is why I push copy every day, just livin' the dream.

 

No. 1 star: Stephane Robidas(notes), Dallas Stars

After Brian Rolston(notes) opened the scoring for the New Jersey Devils, it became the Robidas Show for the rest of the first period: Primary assists on goals by Warren Peters(notes) and Mike Ribeiro, and then a power-play goal of this own. Tom Wandell's(notes) goal in the third gave the Stars the lead again after a Devils' rally, and it was Robidas that finished off the scoring with his fifth of the season for a 5-3 Dallas victory. It was the defenseman's second career two-goal game and first four-point night.

No. 2 Star: Jarome Iginla(notes), Calgary Flames

Iggy now has 15 goals on the season, 11 coming in November, as his hat trick helped the Flames to a 5-2 victory at the Los Angeles Kings. As usual, Iginla's contributions to the win went beyond the score sheet, as Coach Brent Sutter said he was "just rock solid in a lot of areas."

No. 3 Star: David Perron(notes), St. Louis Blues

Perron's two third-period goals finished off the visiting New York Islanders, giving the Blues a 4-1 victory. But St. Louis's leading goal-scorer (9 goals) merits a star because of this stellar, between the legs move that's one of the best highlights of the season:

Honorable mention: Pavel Datsyuk(notes) had a goal, and he and Henrik Zetterberg(notes) scored in the shootout to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 win at the Montreal Canadiens, spoiling a two-goal night from Michael Cammalleri(notes). ... Hell of a road trip for the Florida Panthers: Wins at Buffalo, Detroit and then Madison Square Garden on Saturday night with a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers. Tomas Vokoun(notes) made 32 saves; Marian Gaborik(notes) netted his 16th for the Rangers. ... Not sure what's the stranger sight: The Carolina Hurricanes nearly playing 60 minutes of good hockey in their 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, or Chad LaRose finally scoring his first of the season. ... Filip Kuba(notes) had a four-point night and the Ottawa Senators scored five consecutive goals in their 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres; one that came after starting goalie Pascal Leclaire(notes) left with a lower body injury after a second-period collision with Jochen Hecht(notes). ... After the Phoenix Coyotes may have gotten away with an off-sides call, defenseman Keith Yandle(notes) scored the game-winner in a 3-1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. ... A 45-save effort from Steve Mason(notes) still couldn't earn the Columbus Blue Jackets two points against the Nashville Predators, as Mike Santorelli(notes) and David Legwand(notes) scored in the shootout for a 4-3 win in a divisional showdown. ... Jonathan Toews(notes) scored twice, Patrick Kane(notes) once in the Chicago Blackhawks' 5-2 win at the Edmonton Oilers. Dustin Penner(notes) scored his 13th in the loss. ... Joe Thornton(notes) followed his brilliant four-assist night on Friday with another assist and the game-winning goal past Jonas Hiller(notes) (33 saves) to give the San Jose Sharks a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Dany Heatley(notes) scored his 18th. ... Niklas Hagman(notes) scored in regulation and in the shootout, as Vesa Toskala(notes) stopped 31 shots in the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2-1 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals (despite Alex Ovechkin's(notes) 16th of the season). Must have been the rally caps:

Did you know?: Chicago coach Joel Quenneville moved past former Oilers coach Glen Sather into 14th place on the NHL's career wins list with 497 victories. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Martin Skoula(notes) (2 goals) and the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to hold off an Atlanta Thrashers rally for a 3-2 win, but it was made easier when Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) was ejected for instigating a fight while wearing a visor at 6:52 of the third. It's either a dishonorable mention for Kovalchuck, for his ill-advised fight; or, as Coach John Anderson claims, it's a dishonorable mention to the officials for giving him the instigator when Matt Cooke(notes) was accused of sparking the incident. ... Yann Danis(notes) was yanked for the Devils in favor of Marty Brodeur. ... Georges Laraque's knee-on-knee hit was as dishonorable as they come. ... Blair Betts(notes) dislocated his shoulder again and will miss a month for the Flyers. ... Finally, no video yet, but Wade Belak's(notes) two-handed spear to Jared Boll's(notes) most sensitive of areas wasn't pretty.

Here's the hit, which came after Laraque had already been whistled for a high stick on Darren Helm(notes) that got him a double-minor:

The three penalties Laraque earned resulted in two power-play goals for the Red Wings, so there was some measure of revenge (to go along with winning the game in the shootout, 3-2). The question is now whether there will be something more coming Laraque's way, as everyone from the Detroit media to Don Cherry called it dirty. Laraque, however, was defiant after the game, according to the AP:

"There were four refs on the ice and they didn't call anything," Laraque said. "If they called a match penalty it would be different. There was no intent. There was no reason why I would try to go and hurt him. It was a pure accident, that's why they called it tripping, so I'm not worried at all."

George Malik has more. As he points out, it's a significant player for the Wings with a previous history of knee injuries; factor in that Laraque has a suspension history, and it's likely we'll see something more from the NHL.

But beyond the mandatory criteria for the NHL Wheel of Discipline: It's a dirty hit that deserves further sanction, and that's the case whether Kronwall was injured or not. Laraque's got a reason to worry here.

 

(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

Let's get this out of the way right off the top: This isn't a list of the best individual teams that didn't win a Stanley Cup.

This isn't a list that will feature the 2000-01 New Jersey Devils, 2001-02 Carolina Hurricanes, 2002-03 Anaheim Ducks, 2007-08 Pittsburgh Penguins or 2008-09 Detroit Red Wings -- those four teams (or franchises) got their rings this decade.

This list is about the franchises that have excelled this past decade, but for one reason or another came up short in their quest for a title. Listed here are President Trophy winners, conference champions and annual Cup contenders that couldn't finish the job. They hold the fan bases that had their high expectations dashed by a less than fruitful spring.

With that, our 10 best teams to never win a Stanley Cup this decade are ...

10. St. Louis Blues

It seems so long ago, but the Blues were one of the NHL's best teams at the turn of the century. A President's Trophy winning season in '99-00 ended in shock as the San Jose Sharks knocked out the Blues in seven games during the opening round. The Blues would make the playoffs the following four seasons before three years of hardships and major overhaul occurred which ended a playoff streak that had lasted since 1980. Playing in the Central Division alongside the Detroit Red Wings is never easy, which explains the four straight second-place finishes.

Now under new ownership and with John Davidson as team president, the Blues are stable in the front office and developing an on-ice product around youth.

9. Washington Capitals

While the basement days during the middle of this decade might be remembered more by fans, earlier in the decade the Caps were playoff guests two out of the three seasons after their Stanley Cup appearance in 1998. The Jaromir Jagr(notes) acquisition from Pittsburgh should have been a boost for the franchise (especially after the back of pucks sent to the Penguins in exchange), but the Czech native's poor attitude derailed the Caps after just one playoff appearance in his Washington tenure.

Like the lean years seen in Pittsburgh, Washington's tough times paid off in the long run as they were able to draft Alex Ovechkin(notes) and Mike Green(notes) among the rest of the current supporting cast that has brought the franchise back to "contender" status.

Four Southeast Division titles, five playoff appearances, but just once have they advanced past the first round (last season). With a solid core and budding young goaltender, there's good reason to believe that the dark days that haunted the franchise post-Jagr will not return for a long while.

8. Buffalo Sabres

Light in the playoff appearances (three), Buffalo was among the NHL elite for a two-season span in 2006 and 2007. President's Trophy winners in 2007, the Sabres have survived new ownership and the combination of Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff running things in a market that isn't known to be one of the "haves" when talking about economics in sports.

7. Calgary Flames

Times were tough for the Flames until Darryl Sutter was hired during the 2002-03 season as head coach and took over the GM responsibilities the following year. Sutter's big move was acquiring goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) from San Jose, which helped carry the team into the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals against Tampa Bay. Calgary eliminated three division champions en route to the Cup final that season.

The Flames haven't been able to get out of the second round since 2004 and are on their third coach since the 2006-07 season. Just one division title banner hands from the Pengrowth Saddledome rafters, but Sutter has transformed the team who had missed the playoffs seven years in a row up until the 2004 Cup.

6. Vancouver Canucks

It took the hiring of Marc Crawford to being the turnaround of a Canucks team that missed the playoffs three straight seasons heading into the 1999-00 season. The Stanley Cup winning coach with the 1996 Colorado Avalanche molded the franchise, along with Brian Burke's help, into annual contenders and playoff qualifiers. Gone was Pavel Bure, the team's star player and taking up the reigns in the scoring department were Markus Naslund(notes), Brendan Morrison(notes) and an emerging Todd Bertuzzi(notes) - before, you know, this happened.

The decade saw six playoff appearances for Vancouver with the Canucks only advancing out of the first round three times. Vancouver finished with five 100-point seasons, three Northwest Division titles and former GM Dave Nonis and current man-in-charge Mike Gillis have brought in Roberto Luongo(notes), signed the Sedin twins to long-term deals, drafted wisely and set the franchise up to be contenders in the future.

5. Dallas Stars

A year after winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history, the Stars found themselves on the losing end of a heartbreaking series-winning goal by Jason Arnott(notes) as the New Jersey Devils won in 2000. Dallas followed up the loss with five more wins and four more points before getting knocked out by the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference semifinals.

Transition came during the 2001-02 season with Ken Hitchcock being replaced by Ron Wilson for the final 32 games of the season. It would be the first season since '95-96 that the Stars didn't win the division title or make the playoffs. Dave Tippett would take over behind the bench for the 2002-03 season and lead them to the playoffs over the next five seasons. 

4. Boston Bruins

Most notable about the Bruins regular-season success early in the decade was that it was followed by a first-round exit in the playoffs -- twice by the Montreal Canadiens. Boston was one of those NHL teams that failed to recognize how the "new" NHL was going to play in the post-lockout era. Youth was ignored and old, veteran players were relied upon to carry the Bruins.

Two months into the post-lockout NHL also spelt the end for the Joe Thornton(notes)-era in Boston as he was shipped to San Jose. The struggles Boston went through immediately after the trade paved the way for Tim Thomas(notes) to grab the No. 1 goaltending job. After two seasons at the bottom of the Northeast Division, Boston made their way back to the playoffs in 2008 and followed that up with a 116-point season, third best in franchise history. Even with obstacles in front of him, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has managed to work around the salary cap and pull off shrewd moves to keep Boston competitive for the long-term.

3. Ottawa Senators

Filing for bankruptcy in the middle of the 2002-03 season didn't hamper the Senators from claiming the President's Trophy, but the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals would deny their run to the Stanley Cup. With the exception of last season, Ottawa has made the playoffs every season and won three division titles.

The Senators were well on their way to a possible Cup in 2006, but Dominik Hasek's(notes) injury at the Winter Olympics in Turin dashed any hopes as the Buffalo Sabres eliminated them in the second round. 

2. Philadelphia Flyers

Aside from one aberration of a season (2006-07), the Flyers have been in the "contender" category for almost the past two decades. Eight playoff appearances in nine seasons, two-time Eastern Conference finalists, three division titles, and five 100-point seasons. Safe to say, Philadelphia has been able to maintain their success this decade, but have yet to find their way back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The torch that Eric Lindros(notes) carried into this decade was given to Simon Gagne(notes) for a brief period before Jeff Carter(notes) and captain Mike Richards(notes) ran with it. The "Broad Street Bullies" moniker hasn't left Philadelphia as evidence by the nightly physical play (and numerous suspensions over the years) inside Wachovia Center.

1. San Jose Sharks

Year after the year, the Sharks have been a popular pick to win the Cup. Having been loaded with talent throughout their roster, their shortcomings in April have undermined a decade of regular season success. Four division titles, a President's Trophy, four 100-point seasons and nine playoff appearances make the Sharks the best team to never win this decade.

Months after a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, Sharks GM Doug Wilson went out and traded for Dany Heatley(notes) to add to the already dangerous arsenal.

That's been the consistent thing for San Jose, just when you think they're ready to take a step back, they reload and force their way into contender talk whenever predictions are being thrown around.

Not just because they were one game under .500 and near the bottom of the conference standings, but because their positive momentum was again anchored by bad injury news, as his linemate Brian Gionta's(notes) broken foot shelved him indefinitely.

"Much didn't have to be said tonight. It was a real good team, on the road," said Cammalleri, whose power-play goal in the third period gave the Habs a 3-2 win in D.C.

"Usually, it's the team that's the most banged up that sacrifices the most. The bumps and bruises feel good when you get a win."

There wasn't a chance to ask Cammalleri's linemates Scott Gomez(notes) and Travis Moen(notes) about that theory after the game; both were injured in the win, and are questionable for tonight's game against the Detroit Red Wings back in Montreal. So for a team that's shown signs of consistency recently, the roster shuffle could be on once again.

"I got used to it," said center Tomas Plekanec(notes), whose line with Andrei Kostitsyn(notes) and Max Pacioretty(notes) produced a goal and was arguably the best in the game. "For most of the season, I played with almost every single winger on our team. But obviously it would be better for us to have constant lines."

Especially when the top line looked as promising as it did for Montreal, albeit briefly.

The chatter had been that Glen Metropolit(notes), the feisty checking forward, was going to get an audition with Gomez and Cammalleri after Gionta's injury. But it was Moen who got the start with the top-liners, scoring a second-period goal to tie the game at 1-1 on an assist from Cammalleri.

"I thought Travis really helped the other two," said Coach Jacques Martin. "He gave them a good presence at the net. He's been having an excellent start for our team. Played well on every line I've put him on."

At 6-2 and 215 pounds, he's a more physical presence than Gionta, which gave the Montreal first line a different dynamic.

"Tonight what you saw right away was Travis get in on the forecheck and really create some turnovers for us," said Cammalleri. "It helps a lot for us, because our mentality is that we don't have to make a great play coming into the zone; we just have to get it in and let him do his thing. Create our chances from inside the zone, which is a much more consistent way to play hockey."

But again: Consistency can live or die on injuries, and the Canadiens have battled through a few, significant ones, especially on the blue line. Yet as much adversity as injuries create, they also create a sense of desperation and altered expectations, even when you're wearing a Montreal Canadiens sweater.

"It seems to me we're kind of scared ... well, scared isn't the right word. We respect other teams when they have a superstar like Ovechkin and score the most goals in the league so far," said Plekanec.

Carey Price(notes) (32 saves), who was outstanding late in the game while playing a stretch without his goalie stick, said being a wounded team against a first-place opponent changed their focus. "The thing about being an underdog is that expectations aren't as high," he said. "I guess it kind of takes the pressure off."

So like so many other teams in this injurious season of NHL hockey, the Canadiens will lick their wounds, count the bruises and see who shows up in the lineup for their next game.

Even if it means Cammalleri skates with some new faces.

"Who knows? It's part of hockey that lines change from practice to practice, game to game."

Period to period?

"Shift to shift," he said with a laugh. "So, you never know."

No. 1 Star: Dany Heatley(notes), San Jose Sharks

Coach Todd McLellan stacked his best players on the same line against the Philadelphia Flyers: Heatley, Joe Thornton(notes) and Patrick Marleau(notes). The result? A 6-3 win over the Flyers and a hat-trick for Heatley. His first goal was on a patient 2-in-1 with Thornton; so was his second goal, set up by Jumbo Joe (4 assists on the night) while shorthanded. He completed the hat trick with a power-play goal in the third. Heatley now has 17 goals on the season, best in the NHL.

No. 2 Star: Owen Nolan(notes), Minnesota Wild

Nolan scored the game-winning goal with just 67 seconds remaining on a quick shot in front of Marty Biron (26 saves) after an Eric Belanger(notes) pass. It was his second of the night, having opened the scoring in the first on another feed from Belanger. Good win for the Wild, rallying with two goals in the third for the 3-2 win over the visiting New York Islanders. 

No. 3 star: Scott Clemmensen(notes), Florida Panthers

The Panthers keeper stopped 39 of 40 shots, more than a few of them above average, in Florida's 2-1 overtime victory at the Detroit Red Wings. Bryan McCabe's(notes) second of the season 40 seconds into overtime was the difference, but it was Clemmensen that kept the Panthers in the game for only their second win ever at the Joe.

Honorable mention: Tomas Plekanec(notes) had a goal and an assist, and Carey Price(notes) (32 saves) was both lucky and good in the final few minutes, as the Montreal Canadiens scored a big road win, 3-2, over the Washington Capitals. ... Patrice Bergeron's(notes) seventh of the season, a redirection of a Zdeno Chara(notes) shot, gave the Boston Bruins a 2-1 victory in overtime at the Buffalo Sabres. Milan Lucic(notes) scored his first of the season earlier in the game. ... Christian Ehrhoff(notes) had two goals and Henrik Sedin's(notes) 13th was the eventual game-winner in the Vancouver Canucks' 5-2 win over the slumping Colorado Avalanche, who are now in a 1-4-1 slide. 

Did you know?: The Flyers are winless in San Jose since Nov. 15, 1999. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Among the injuries this evening were Montreal's Scott Gomez(notes) and Travis Moen(notes); Washington's Tom Poti(notes); Buffalo's Drew Stafford(notes) (a lower-body injury that will keep him out against Ottawa on Saturday) and Cory Stillman(notes) of Florida, who was crunched by Brad Stuart(notes) and was helped off the ice. Said Coach Peter DeBoer: "Stillman's got a knee injury and is going to be out a while." ... Kent Huskins(notes) still found a way to be a minus-3 despite the Sharks scoring six goals. ... Finally, Shane Hnidy(notes) earned 17 minutes in penalties for this fight against Tim Jackman(notes) of the Islanders. It probably wasn't worth it:

That relationship has been severed by the team, according to the OC Register, which reported that police said 'Mike V.' was arrested and cited for fighting in public for his part in the wild fan brawl over Scott Niedermayer's(notes) stick. Video of the fight was posted here on Friday morning.

We were tipped off earlier today that the "little girl" Niedermayer referred to in his awkward postgame interview on Fox Sports was in fact Vallely's daughter, and that Vallely became physically involved when another fan attempted to snatch the stick after Niedermayer tossed it to her over the glass.

Curtis Zupke of Ducks blog confirmed those details and that Vallely, 39, had been arrested, though police said "none of the parties involved wished to press charges."

Zupke writes that the Ducks were doing a bit of damage control today:

A link to Vallely's blog had been on the Ducks' official Web site. The link was taken down by Friday afternoon. Ducks spokesman Alex Gilchrist said that Vallely was not an official employee of the organization, but that the Ducks have terminated their relationship with him.

The Ducks are evaluating the practice of players handing their sticks to fans in the stands, Gilchrist said. The tradition began this season.

Puck Buddy Bredan emailed us about Mike V participating in the fight, telling us that he's obviously cut his hair (and we imagine had a shave since this George Parros(notes) photo in 2007) and that the Web is littered with clips of him involved in other fights.

The Ducks incident is already up on Mike V's Wikipedia page, whose references to Powell Peralta in 1987 have made us feel about as old as watching John Carlson(notes) (D.O.B.: Jan 10, 1990) skate for the Capitals tonight. Sigh.

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at San Jose Sharks, 10 p.m. EST. The big news here, according to the Sharks, is Coach Todd McLellan putting together the mega-line of  Patrick Marleau(notes), Joe Thornton(notes) and Dany Heatley(notes). McLellan told Working The Corners: "Things may be going great for (the Thornton line), but if it's not going good for the other three lines, we can't leave them out in the dark and have a one line game." Aw, who cares about those other nine guys; play these dudes for 60.

Preview: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres, 7:30 p.m. EST. No Marc Savard(notes) for the B's tonight, as it appears Monday against the St. Louis Blues is the target date for his return. The Sabres are coming off a humbling 6-2 loss to the Panthers that left them frustrated, although it produced Ryan Miller(notes) quote gold: "They just played boring until they got a lead and then they played more boring." There's a live blog of this on NESN, if that's what you're into. Watch The Game Via Hockey Night on Y! 

Preview: Colorado Avalanche at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. EST. The Avs are ending a three-game road trip, the Canucks are starting a five-game homestand. Vancouver curb-stomped them the last time they played to the tune of 8-2. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y! 

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• Sean Avery(notes) molds and shapes young minds. [Rangers]

• Florida Panthers third-jersey cuteness via Litter Box Cats, and George Richards has an artists rendering of what we might expect from the new duds. You know, they're not bad, but we need to see the real McCoy. Not making the same mistake we did with those Thrashers thirds. [On Frozen Pond]

• The New Jersey Devils lose Dainius Zubrus(notes) for about a month with a leg injury.  [In Lou We Trust]

• Uh, it doesn't sound like Derek Dorsett(notes) is willing to let bygones by bygones with James Neal(notes). [@aportzline]

• In case you haven't heard, Adrian Dater of the Denver Post has resigned ... from Twitter. [All Things Avs, and an interesting take from Hockey Wilderness]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: On our Harry Truman jersey story, we have a tie between ...

Fur: "I think that jersey is going to 'bomb.'"

... and ...

James S: "Totally Enola Gay!!"

Puck Daddy: Hockey blog and history blog! The more you know ...

Bold Prediction: St. Paul native Kyle Okposo(notes) scores for the Islanders at the Wild.

Last week I talked about some of the great traditions in college hockey, and the common theme to all of it was fan interaction. College hockey has great fans but, as I alluded to, sometimes the fans can go a little too far.

Personally, I'm more than a little comfortable with profanity, and chants featuring the word [expletive], [expletive] or even [expletive] don't bother me. I get it, it's college-age kids having a good time and being vocal in support of their team at a college sporting event. If it were up to me, I'd let the kids go crazy, say whatever they want.

But the problem is that probably the biggest percentage of college hockey attendees are families. Families have little kids. Parents don't like their kids hearing sweary cursey words thrown around liberally. And if they're motivated enough, they can raise a stink and cause schools to do something like this:

"After much public discussion through e-mails surveys of our season ticket holders and communication with our students, we feel we have put together some measures that will enhance the atmosphere at our home men's hockey games," said University of North Dakota athletics director Brian Faison.

"The overriding sentiment from our fans is that they love the energy in the building, but we need to make sure the passion of all of our fans is directed in a positive fashion."

That's an awful long quote that basically says, "Hey kids, your swearing is going to start costing us money, so stop." Similarly, Minnesota-Duluth just had a crackdown on student behavior as well.

(Coming Up: An interview with UMass Minutemen blogger, Fear the Triangle; Fenway Park hockey news; and why Hobey Baker candidate Chay Genoway is out for this weekend.)

It's important to keep in mind that the NCAA is, at its core, a heartless, exploitative moneymaking operation. The only way to affect change is to affect a school's coffers. Some, like me, may not consider it especially fair but that's the way things are. And, it should be noted, a student's money simply isn't as good to a school as a family of four's money and for obvious reasons.

A few years ago, BU told its students that the use of an F-bomb in their "The Song" was unacceptable and it was replaced with the far less interesting "Rough ‘em up, rough ‘em up, BC sucks." But this was, of course, necessitated by BU students chanting "(expletive) you Boyle" at BC's Brian Boyle(notes) while the Eagles were pummeling the Terriers in the NCAA regionals for about five minutes straight.

And that, I think, is the distinction. No one will care about the occasional F-bomb as long as it's a little clever and kind of buried in a song or something. But when it's blunt, it becomes a problem for parents and thus the school and thus the students, who are no longer allowed to have what they perceive to be fun.

So if you want to swear at hockey games, start writing limericks or something. You're not going to win this fight.

(It should be noted, by the way, that most schools are not like this. For every Wisconsin and Vermont, both of which have atrocious student swearing problems that have grown so big as to be uncontrollable by school officials, there's easily five, even 10, schools where there hasn't been and will never be a problem. Most student groups do a good job of policing themselves, and those that don't stand out for exactly the reasons you'd imagine.)

Pop quiz

In which I ask a blogger for a noteworthy team five questions. This week's guest is UMass Minutemen blogger, Fear the Triangle.

1. Is James Marcou the best player ever to put on a UMass sweater?

Marcou certainly has some of the best stick-handling skills and amazing vision I've ever seen. He also has a very good shot which you don't get to see very often because he's so busy trying to set everyone else up. I think a discussion of if he's the best would have to include Greg Mauldin(notes), Jon Quick(notes) and Thomas Pock(notes). Mauldin was certainly talented and one of the better goal scorers in the conference but by being a playmaker Marcou makes everyone else around him that much better, something Mauldin probably did not. Quick is certainly the best UMass player to go between the pipes, but he only had one year as a true starter before leaving early. Pock was a game changer for the Minutemen and is still their only Hobey Baker finalist but the first couple years of his UMass career were a bit of a wash as he made the transition from forward to defenseman.

Marcou, on the other hand, came in from Day One as a freshman and made an immediate impact on this program and continues to be the centerpiece player on the team. If he stays healthy and comes back for his final season he has the chance to rewrite the UMass record books, including records dating back to the Div. 2 era that I never thought would be touched.

At this point he certainly looks to be the best from what I know of UMass hockey.

2. Is Paul Dainton the kind of goalie you trust to get your team to the NCAA tournament?

Yes. Dainton is a very solid goaltender who can be relied on to perform well every night out. The poise and consistency he offers in net I think is important for this team, especially considering that UMass is trying to develop a number of young defensemen this season. He has already surpassed his previous career high in saves twice in the past month. He probably isn't going to wow a lot of people with his play or put up mind-boggling stats but almost every game he's going to play well enough for UMass to win provided they score a reasonable amount of goals to do so. With scoring up this season for the team, that's exactly what has happened.

3. Are you at all nervous that this team still hasn't proven it can win or play consistently in the second half?

Absolutely. To say that inconsistency has plagued the Minutemen in recent years would be an understatement. Inconsistency has defined them. Recent teams have been inconsistent during the season, such as in 2007-2008 where they entered January with a No. 5 ranking only to go 5-13-1 the rest of the way out.

They've been inconsistent from game to game like last year when they followed up a 5-1 drubbing of No. 1 BU with a shutout loss to Lowell at home; and they were especially inconsistent during games last season where they seemingly would take entire periods off. Thus far inconsistency hasn't been too much of a problem. Effort has been there for the entire 60 minutes in most games and they've been able to avoid trap games like the one a couple weeks ago out at Niagara that had all the earmarks of a game last year's team likely would've dropped. Those around the team say the mindset has changed and perhaps it will lead to more consistent play. So far it looks like that may be the case.

4. What do you think the team learned from its split with UNH last weekend?

I think they learned a couple things. First off is that they've been blessed with perhaps an easy schedule to open the season and I think they now know that things are about to get tougher as their next five opponents are all ranked. Even UNH, a team that is supposedly struggling, can beat you on your home ice if you're not careful.

Secondly, I think they learned they have to adjust to different situations better. The team has lost a couple of key players, Rocco Carzo and T.J. Syner, to injury recently and as a result some of the lines have been shuffled. This seemed to create some confusion and overall the offense looked disjointed in both UNH games. They need to learn how to execute no matter who is on their wing. Poor ice conditions slowed the speed-driven team on Saturday. Coming into a stretch of games where four of five will be on the road they hopefully got the lesson that you have to find ways to execute even if conditions aren't ideal or they're taken out of their element.

5. How realistic is home ice in the Hockey East tournament for the Minutemen?

Going into the season I probably projected the Minutemen to finish a little higher than most of the pundits but even I thought it would be tough to crack home ice. My thinking was that the Big 3 of BU, BC and UNH would be joined by Lowell and maybe Vermont and pull away from the rest of the pack early. Well, Lowell has certainly played as well as expected but the rest of Hockey East looks like a complete free for all. I think as long as BU continues to suffer from the injury bug, BC's talented freshmen are slow to develop, and UNH struggles with Brian Foster in net that the door is open for other teams to hang around those third, fourth, and fifth spots all the way up until March.

Whether UMass would be one of those teams instead of a Vermont, Maine, or dare I say Merrimack, it's probably too early to tell.

Extra credit

• Both the UNH/Northeastern women's game and the BC/BU men's game at Fenway on Jan. 8 will be televised by NESN. [HEOnline]

• No real shock here, but North Dakota's star defenseman and Hobey Baker candidate Chay Genoway is out for this weekend against Denver after the brutal hit from behind St. Cloud's Aaron Marvin laid on him last Friday. [Goon's World]

• More info on that Marvin hit, including how the officials kicked the wrong guy out of the game and then, after he had already showered, told him he could come back and play. Marvin, meanwhile, killed some of the penalty he committed. True story. Not a good week to be a ref that has to make an important decision. [St. Cloud Times]

• A poorly-timed profile of BC's John Muse (2.85 GAA, .885 save percentage) getting back on track. [NHL.com]

• Michigan: Still bad somehow. [The Blog that Yost Built]

• After getting about a hundred lucky breaks, bounces and calls last season, BU's really paying for it this year. Chris Connolly, who had four points last weekend, separated his shoulder in practice Thursday, becoming the (I think) seventh regular contributor to miss at least a weekend. Meanwhile defenseman David Warsofsky practices at forward. [Boston Hockey Blog]

• Minnesota's Sam Lofquist has bolted for the OHL. [College Hockey News]

(Hey guys, I'm always looking for links here. If you have a college hockey post on your blog, please send it along to the address below.)

Ryan Lambert writes about college hockey weekly here at Puck Daddy. You can e-mail him here or follow him on Twitter. Lead photo from Tacky Julie on Flickr.

Here's the hit and a TSN roundtable about the hit.

Bob McKenzie, as Bob McKenzie does, nails it: The "optics" of the hit make this a slam-dunk suspension, according to the NHL Wheel of Discipline. High hit to the back of the head, sandwiching Dorsett's noggin against the glass, and then the Blue Jackets player flopping to the ice like a marionette with his strings cut.

Anyone that's been following Colin Campbell's thought process on these things had to know something was coming Neal's way.

Was it malicious? Neal said he had no intent to injure. One can argue he was coming in to split the defenders and not even to hit Dorsett, and that's the argument made by Brandon Worley on Defending Big D. Without the injury, it's a fine and a game misconduct; with the injury, it's a 2-game example made by the NHL.

Worley and Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News both make the point that this is Neal's first disciplinary incident in his two NHL seasons, and Heika thinks the suspension is bad news because of that fact:

He is a player at age 22 who now has a record, and we have seen that the league treats players who have records differently than others. "Repeat offender" will be on his resume for any future hits.

Too true, and the NHL has shown us suspension after suspension that once you're on the Wheel of Discipline, it's not easy to climb off. At least according to the flow chart.

There's a never-ending supply of pure comedic gold when minor league sports teams develop jerseys for special promotional nights. As we saw recently with the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL and their Michael Jackson-inspired jerseys for "King of Pop Night", the limits on the ridiculousness of how a jersey is presented knows no bounds.

The latest minor league hockey team to show off their fashionista skills will be the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League this Friday as they host the Tulsa Oilers. For "Truman Night," which will benefit the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, the Mavericks will wear these ridiculously ridiculous jerseys honoring the 33rd President of the United States:

While patriotic indeed, the floating head of the man who was thought to have lost to Thomas Dewey front and center is both eerie and inspirational at the same.

After the game, the jerseys will be auctioned off for fans in attendance and lucky winners will get a photo with the player whose jersey they won.

Stick tap to Jason Cohen of Zamboni Rodeo for the find.

• The Ari Gold Jersey Foul? Llllllllloyd! At least now he'll have something to wear when E rocks his Tavares jersey. [NHL]

• In Year 2 of a four-year contract and being the coach of Brian Burke's U.S. Olympic hockey team, Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Ron Wilson could be spared the axe despite presiding over the biggest disaster in the NHL this season; and, after last night's loss, the worst team in the League. [Sportsnet]

• The Vancouver Canucks are the latest team to fight allegations that they jumped the line for H1N1 vaccine. No word if they attempted to pass Kyle Wellwood(notes) off as pregnant to do so. [Fox Sports]

• Making the case for Ryan Wilson(notes) of the Colorado Avalanche to be suspended for his hit on Ethan Moreau(notes) of the Edmonton Oilers. The "driving upward into the hit" argument is a pretty good one. [Jibblescribbits]

• Meanwhile, James Neal's(notes) hit on Derek Dorsett(notes) of the Columbus Blue Jackets last night (hearing at noon EST) may earn the Dallas Stars winger a suspension; Brandon suggests it has everything to do with bad timing and the current media climate. [Defending Big D]

• How nice of Marty Havlat to wait until after his free-agent contract to begin getting injured again. [@russostrib]

• A rather mind-blowing blog about UFC replacing the NHL in some pubs on a Saturday night in Canada, and whether that speaks to the "de-masculinizing and feminizing" of hockey. Mike Milbury already has this article memorized. [Vancouver Observer]

• Really quality piece by Stu Hackel on Twitter and sports journalism today, looking at the Alan Walsh/Montreal Canadiens dust-up and the recent Dion Phaneuf(notes) screaming match tweet controversy. [Slap Shot]

• The Phoenix Coyotes lost $5 million in October alone, but the Globe & Mail offers some really fun financial news later in this story: "The court filings also revealed that the club had some unusual expenditures in October. It spent $3,500 on Hockey Hall of Fame 'induction tickets', $970 on the Boy Scouts of America 'scout night patches', and $332.67 on 'tattoos' from California Tattoos Inc. New head coach Dave Tippett, who took over after Wayne Gretzky quit, received $31,000 in October." Tattoos? [G&M]

• Looking at a potential Anaheim Ducks sell-off, and wondering if James Wisniewski(notes) and Joffrey Lupul(notes) will be part of the shopping spree. [Anaheim Calling]

• Really interesting editorial in the Ottawa Citizen about girls hockey, and it's current growth in Canada: "A new policy is expected to take effect next year that would reserve prime ice time for minor hockey and allocate it based on registration, not history. That means girls' associations would have equal access to that limited ice time, something that -- more than a century after the first women's game was played in this city -- is long overdue." [Ottawa Citizen]

• Why did Nikita Filatov(notes) go to Russia? Why, obviously as Ken Hitchcock's secret Trojan horse to shed more salary cap space, of course. [MYFO]

• A plethora of interesting numbers at the quarter pole for the NHL. [NHL.com]

• Can softer shoulder pads cut down on concussion-like injuries in the NHL? [Dreger]

• The notion of Finland as an Olympic dark horse is an interesting one. Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), Niklas Backstrom(notes) and Antero Niittymaki(notes) in a tournament format ... hmmmmm. [THN]

• "Cyclone spin kick. That's how we do this [expletive] in Sweden, yo." [Getty]

• For the first time, the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Sixers are teaming up on a ticket deal in which you get two tickets for each team for $100. (Note: When we visited Philly.com for the story, an auto-play ad for Tampax Pearl started blaring. Adjust speakers accordingly.) [Philly.com]

• Stephen Pepper looks at the various reclamation projects for the Washington Capitals while introducing the poetic headline: "Finding That Dahlen In the Rough." [Japers Rink]

• Inside the numbers for why the Ottawa Senators are seeing empty seats in their arena this season. [Off The Posts]

• Uh, awesome: Milwaukee- Milwaukee Admirals President Jon Greenberg announced today that the Dropkick Murphys will perform in a post-game concert, courtesy of Time Warner Cable and Miller Lite, on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 following the team's 7:30 p.m. game versus the Chicago Wolves. [Admirals]

• Try as they might, the New Jersey Devils couldn't steal another point in the shootout against Nashville. [Fire & Ice]

• Shean Donovan(notes) may have suffered a season-ending injury for the Sens. [Sportsnet]

• Maxim Afinogenov(notes) has 17 points in 17 games for the Atlanta Thrashers. Buffalo just threw up a little. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

• Did you know David Booth's(notes) offensive is ice cold right now? You know, what with him being concussed and not playing for the Panthers? Boy, that sure makes him streaky. (Kukla nails another one.) [KK]

• Finally, Erik Cole(notes) and Ian White(notes) both had fairly eventful nights for the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs; check out this wicked hip check and a fight:

Of course, Cole and the Canes eventually had the last laugh. Well, those two and the officials.

If were to make an all-injured player all-star team, it's probably Daniel Sedin(notes), Eric Staal(notes) and Marian Hossa(notes) up front; Andrei Markov(notes) and Rob Blake(notes) on the blue line; and Cam Ward(notes) between the pipes. Which is to say that there are some pretty damn good players watching the game form the press box right now (though Hossa and Sedin are nearly back).

This infirmary-on-skates was a topic for both the Globe & Mail and the Sun this morning, as the NHL reaches the quarter pole; with Mike Zeisberger of the latter publication writing that the injuries have a devastating effect on the League's marketing:

For a league thirsting for star power, the assembly line of sidelined marquee performers truly is a punch right in the NHL's P.R. gut. That's especially true south of the border, where, in the absence of a true national television contract (sorry, Versus, but you are no ESPN), big names are crucial in the wooing of fans.

There's no question that the NHL's marketing focus has been star-centric ever since Gary Bettman came over from the NBA, where the name on the back of the uniform might as well be on the front, too.

That's why the NHL flopped and flailed in its promotion of the game during the trap years: How does one market stars when their talent is literally being held back? That's why the NHL has found its stride after the lockout, as the new rules have opened up the offense; players like Sidney Crosby(notes), Evgeni Malkin(notes) and Alex Ovechkin(notes) have become marketable stars; and the shootout provides SportsCenter-ready highlights in games that would otherwise end in a tie. (Though as Puck Buddy Walt wrote over email today: Take the helmets off already.)

So Zeisberger is correct that big names are "crucial in the wooing of fans" because the NHL has set it its marketing up to be that way. But it's that "especially true south of the border" part that we're wondering about: Do star players make a difference in the NHL's popularity in the U.S.? Or is it still about the logo on the front?

One of the reasons Zeisberger's line raised our interest was that it harkened back to something Stu Siegel, new majority co-owner of the Florida Panthers, told us in an interview this week when asked about the impact of star players in "non-traditional" U.S. markets. In this case, we were talking specifically about Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) with the Atlanta Thrashers:

That one superstar, arguably one of the top 10 players in the League. And the market doesn't know who he is, or they're not marketing him properly.

There are few extremely marketable players in the League: Crosby, Ovechkin ... there aren't that many. People look at us and say we don't have any stars on our team. I would argue, "What makes a star?"

Siegel went on to say that David Booth(notes), the injured forward for the Panthers, "is a star or pretty close to that" on a local level for the team. That said: Will the fans who do attend Panthers games not go, or not watch on television, if Booth is out?

Like Siegel said: The players that can have that affect on gate in the U.S. are rare. Crosby is one. Ovechkin is another. On a local level, the absence of Martin Brodeur(notes) from a particular Devils game probably affects the walk-up gate. Are there others locally that do the same?

For television, U.S. fans will make time for Ovechkin or Crosby or Malkin; the Versus ratings back that up. But is, say, Rick Nash's(notes) participation in the Blue Jackets game going to determine whether you watch it or not, as a fan inside or outside of Columbus?

If there aren't a great number of players that swing attendance and/or viewership one way or another, what does? We'd argue that the franchise brands carry more weight with fans than anything else. The Detroit Red Wings coming to town, for example, is a big deal in a U.S. market, and not for any particular player.

Where these theories collide is for teams like the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks, who are winning and entertaining teams with more than a few "name" players. Are we paying, and paying attention, as U.S. fans because of their place in the standings or because of names like Thornton, Heatley, Kane and Toews (and soon, Hossa)?

If Zeisberger is correct, then the NHL does need to work harder to make this generation of stars viable. It needs to be "Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning" coming to down, or "Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets"; we're not sure the marketing is there yet for casual hockey fans in the U.S.

If Zeisberger is off-base about what "star power" means in U.S. markets, then is the NHL better off marketing teams rather than players?

(UPDATE 8:07 p.m. EST: Pro skater and Ducks blogger Mike V has been arrested for his part in the fight.)

Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer(notes) was named the first star of the night after his game-winning, power-play goal in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. To celebrate with the home crowd, he skated out and attempted to toss his stick to a girl in the front rows near the glass.

That was until some man-mountain reached and grabbed the stick, a vigilante in a plaid shirt butt-ended him with it, and fists started flying between a few fans in the chaos -- all while under the Honda Center spotlights.

As you'll see, Niedermayer and the Fox Sports reporter couldn't exactly avoid the topic after this disturbing scene, making for one awkward opening exchange in their interview:

(Apologies for the taped-from-TV quality, but this clip really captures the fight. A clearer feed can be viewed on YouTube here.)

Before Niedermayer skates away, you can see him having a chat through the glass with a woman holding the stick, perhaps to indentify the intended recipient. Hopefully it's that blonde who starts punching with one hand while holding her beer with the other. That's a hockey fan.

To the surprise of no one, Fox Sports edited out the beginning of the interview in the postgame clip it released.

After seeing this clip, we're sad to see a nice gesture from a star player transform the lower bowl into a battle royal; we're hopeful that no one was injured and that the proper parties have been punished; and we're rather happy that ice hockey isn't played with axes or chainsaws.  

Huselius used special teams to his advantage in Columbus' 4-1 win over Dallas. His shorthanded goal with one second left in the first period and power-play tally midway through the second sunk the Stars. He helped open the scoring by assisting on Rick Nash's(notes) 14th goal of the season in the first. Steve Mason(notes) made 25 saves as the Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to three and have now won five of their last six.

No. 2 star, Chris Phillips(notes), Ottawa Senators

It was a memorable 800th career NHL game for the long-time Senators defenseman. Two goals in 2:03 in the third period were enough to chase Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) in a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Heading into tonight Phillips had scored just once in 18 games. It was a confidence-boosting win for the Sens who will play tough conference games in the next week against Buffalo, Washington, New Jersey, and Boston.

No. 3 star, Cristobal Huet(notes), Chicago Blackhawks

The surging Blackhawks put forth a strong effort against Calgary in a 7-1 rout of the Flames. Huet stopped 27 shots for his 10th win of the season and fifth in a row. Chicago's win in Calgary was the first game of a six-game western road trip. His performance tonight against the Flames was a measure of revenge for Huet after Calgary chased him early in their first meeting of the season back October 13th. The Blackhawks would come back from a 5-0 first period deficit to win 6-5 in overtime.

Honorable mention: Congrats to Atlanta's Nik Antropov(notes) who finally scored his first goal of the season after spending the first month and a half collecting 16 assists ... Michael Ryder's(notes) pair along with Patrice Bergeron's(notes) shootout winner were enough for the Bruins to top the Thrashers. In the loss, Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) and the resurgent Maxim Afinogenov(notes) combined for five points which gives them 19 points together in Atlanta's last three games ... Tuukka Rask(notes) stopped three Thrasher shootout attempts to secure the victory ... The Blackhawks went 3-for-5 on the power-play with Kris Versteeg(notes) popping in two of them in Chicago's win over the Flames ... Pascal Leclaire's(notes) 25 saves, Mike Fisher's(notes) three helpers and Milan Michalek's(notes) 100th career NHL goal helped pile on the Penguins ... Who would have thought that two of the worst teams in the NHL at the moment would have provided us with such an entertaining hockey game? Carolina's 6-5 triumph saw five goals in the third period, including two in the final 30 seconds as Toronto blew an early 3-0 lead. Tim Gleason's(notes) two goals and Tuomo Ruutu's(notes) four assists were part of a wild affair in Raleigh. Ian White(notes) had a busy evening (more on that tomorrow) as his goal with half a minute left in the game gave the Maple Leafs a 5-4 lead until Erik Cole's(notes) response with three seconds remaining sent things to overtime. White also sent Cole flying early in the third period with a beauty of a hip check ... Road warriors no more, the New Jersey Devils lost their second straight away from home in a 3-2 shootout loss to Nashville. Martin Brodeur(notes) and Pekka Rinne(notes) both made 26 saves while Zach Parise(notes) and Jason Arnott(notes) each scored twice ... Ryan Getzlaf(notes) and Teemu Selanne(notes) each contributed a goal and two assists in Anaheim's 4-3 win over Tampa Bay. Corey Perry(notes) extended his points streak to 13 games. ... Scott Niedermayer(notes) and Erik Johnson(notes) were overtime heroes tonight in victories by the Ducks and St. Louis Blues. Johnson's end-to-end effort for St. Louis gave the Blues a 3-2 win over Phoenix ... Steven Stamkos'(notes) acrobatic display won goal of the night honors:

Did you know?: Chicago head coach Joel Quennville is now tied with Glen Sather on the all-time NHL wins list with 496.

Dishonorable mention: Marc-Andre Fleury was not at his best tonight as he allowed five goals against the Ottawa Senators after they opened the floodgates in the third period in their 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins ...  After tying things at one early in the second period, the Calgary Flames proceeded to allow six straight Chicago. Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) was pulled before the third period after allowing six goals in 24 shots ... Columbus and Dallas combined for 57 first period penalty minutes including unsportsmanlike calls against Steve Mason and Marty Turco(notes) when the two almost got into a tussle. The lasting moment from the game will be James Neal's(notes) hit on Derek Dorsett(notes) and the frightening way the young winger fell to the ice. Neal will have a phone hearing with the NHL in the morning:

Leafs blog Pension Plan Puppets saw:

- Hagman getting tackled and no penalty being called despite the ref standing two feet away
- The ref watching the puck trickle into the net
- The ref checking his watch
- The ref looking at the dueling banjos in the crowd
- The ref blowing the whistle

This one obviously isn't as egregious an officiating error as the one in the Wings/Dallas Stars game, but it's just as farcical. The whistle blows with the puck well over the goal line, and the referee Ian Walsh is looking at the pile instead of the goal when he blows it (or intends to in his mind). Pretty easy to lose sight of the puck when you're not looking for it in the back of the net, right? 

So this is twice in two nights, and according to NHL VP Mike Murphy it's about a half-dozen of these "Intent To Blow" incidents since the start of the season. Murphy said the NHL will look into the "procedures" for correcting an ill-advised stoppage of play by a referee, and let's hope they do.

If the teams play to the whistle, this is a goal for the Leafs. If the War Room was allowed to overturn the ref's call on the ice in this situation, it might have been a goal, too. (And not just because the War Room is in Toronto. Although it'd probably help. Now, where did I put my tin-foil hat again?)

Preview: Boston Bruins at Atlanta Thrashers, 7 p.m. EST. The Thrashers have won four in a row, and Johan Hedberg(notes) started three of them. But with the Moose scheduled for a Saturday start against the Penguins, it's Ondrej Pavelec(notes) tonight against the visiting Bruins. As for the B's, Milan Lucic(notes) is expected back but Tim Thomas sits with an injury. Marc Savard(notes), by the way, is inching forever closer to that contract extension. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames, 9:30 p.m. EST. It's circus-trip time for the Blackhawks, with six road games in 10 days. The Flames have dropped five in a row to the 'Hawks, including that NHL record comeback in October. Oh, and it's Patrick Kane's(notes) 21st birthday, even though he's in a place where he could have legally gotten 'faced at 18. Sigh ... what to get for the man who has everything? Ah, yes: That's it. -- Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. EST: The two Eastern Conference power outages meet for the second time in less than two weeks. Know what would make this game a hell of a lot more interesting? The threat of relegation. 

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• Oh the Ducks, they are a-changin': 15 NHL scouts were given credentials for the Anaheim Ducks game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. [LA Times]

• Center Erik Christensen(notes) has been loaned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League for conditioning purposes. [Ducks]

• Lil' Herb Brooks update. [Sportress]

• More about the Detroit Red Wings and "intent to blow" rule: "LaRue -- with an opportunity to see or be told that no save occurred in the first place -- overrules everything by claiming that what he imagined to have happened initially holds greater power than what actually happened." [Triple Deke]

• Mike Chen has a bit of a different take on the rule and the controversy. [Chen]

• Ottawa Senators winger Alexei Kovalev will play against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight before "heading to Russia on Friday because of the death of his wife's mother." [TSN]

• Should the Los Angeles Kings be concerned with Jonathan Quick? [BoC]

• Chris Drury(notes) is slowly coming back for the New York Rangers, while Ales Kotalik(notes) is taking over Enver Lisin's(notes) spot on the Marian Gaborik(notes) line. [Daily News]

• Great piece on Olli Jokinen(notes), the "No. 1 centre" who has "count 'em up: that's 4 goals in the past 38 games." Wow. [Battle of Alberta]

• NOT HOCKEY: Roger Ebert reviews "New Moon." As in, "sitting through this experience is like driving a pickup in low gear though a sullen sea of Brylcreem." [Ebert]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: We're not going to do a specific comment today; just read all of the folks who took the time to mention their own favorite games of the last decade; we're kicking ourselves for not finding a place for the 5-OT game between Albany and Philadelphia in the AHL.

Bold Prediction: We will receive at least three more pieces of hate mail for that Tin Foil Hat Society comment last night before midnight EST.

That's the beauty of fantasy hockey --  throwing darts can often bring you better results than hours of studying statistics and depth charts.

Of course, I speak to last week's recommendation of considering Andrew Ebbett(notes) (since scratched) and dropping Matt Stajan(notes) (now back on Phil Kessel's(notes) line and doing just fine, thank you) and Radim Vrbata(notes) (let's not go there either). It's enough to drive a man to drink.  As Homer found out (to his dismay) in an early Simpsons episode spoofing fantasy sports -- "when you're right 52 percent of the time, you're wrong 48 percent of the time."

I strive for that 52 percent. With everything in life.

Injury replacement of the week: Andrei Kostitsyn(notes), Montreal Canadiens

Brian Gionta(notes) has a fractured bone in his left foot and the slumping A.K. has already scored a goal in his absence. Kostitsyn has had a hell of a time with things since early spring and fantasy owners have been jumping ship faster than figureheads at the NHLPA.

Are you drunk?

It's Thursday. You know the answer to that already. If there is ever a moment that you should show interest this season in the elder Kostitsyn, it is right now. Granted, six points in 21 games is as impressive as a Gary Bettman press conference, but he's a talented kid who will now get another chance to be a go-to guy.

The Keepers who are on fire...

Niklas Kronwall(notes), Detroit Red Wings: Kronwall's been improving his statistics every year and he has also proven (last season) that he can stay healthy for the full slate of games. He has seven points in his last four contests and has shown in the past that his hot streaks can go for as long as 25 games.

Brad Boyes(notes), St. Louis Blues: He'd been about as effective in the first six weeks as the Coyotes' PR department was back in July. Nothing gets fantasy owners back on a player's bandwagon faster than a four-point game, which Boyes had on the 10th. Sure, he may take a step back this year, but that step won't take him below the 60-point mark. The Blues' offense won't remain this horrible forever.

Steve Sullivan(notes), Nashville Predators:  Something clicks with Sully. You don't know when it will happen, but when it does it's pretty sweet. He has scored three goals in his last two games, which tops his total from the first 17 games. That sound you heard was "click". Now watch him go.

Bobby Ryan(notes), Anaheim Ducks:  There were a lot of poolies panicking over this guy. They couldn't understand how he could post nearly a point-per-game as a rookie and then stumble out of the gates with two points in nine games. Relax. He's not going to finish with a point-per-game as a sophomore and that thought should never have teased you in the first place. He's also not going to get 20 points - no "jinx" is that bad (unless he gets hurt, but I won't go there -- it may curse him). He'll finish in that 62-67 range. His 11 points in the last 10 games are just one of several hot runs he will have in 2009-10.

The Sleepers who are on the wire...

Frans Nielsen(notes), New York Islanders: The 25-year-old Dane has given the Isles some more secondary scoring. You'll never mistake him for Bryan Trottier, but Nielsen does have a bit of upside. He should set a career high of 40 or 45 points come April. Seeing as he has eight of his points (and plus-6) in the last 10 games, he's a good short-term option in a lot of fantasy formats

Anton Stralman(notes), Columbus Blue Jackets: Tons of potential, he just needs to be used properly.  And Ken Hitchcock is world renowned for using his young players properly, right Nikita? Actually, in Stralman's case, Hitch is doing a good job. He has 11 points in his last 15 games and eight of those points have come on the power play. Unless Stralman shows up at the rink wearing a Filatov mask, he'll continue to get the ice time and as such should be a lock for 42-plus points.

Brian Pothier(notes), Washington Capitals:  This is just a short-term suggestion, as Pothier has teased us before. Following up a 35-point season in Ottawa to go to a budding offensive powerhouse in Washington back when they didn't have another option for a quarterback ... and then stumbling to 28 points was as big a letdown as "Transformers 2." But he does have six points in his last six games and they came on the heels of a healthy scratch - which sometimes gives a player the kick in the ass they need.

Jimmy Howard(notes), Detroit Red Wings: Chris Osgood(notes) is hurt and Howard is getting all of the starts. More importantly - he's winning them. He is 3-1 in his last four and sports a 0.903 SP in that span. Not the greatest, but good enough to earn Mike Babcock's confidence. Goalies are always hard to get via the wire in roto leagues, so from that standpoint Howard is a great short-term option.

In a slump, these boys are mired...

Jason Spezza(notes), Ottawa Senators:  It's amazing how many clowns there are out there. The dummies who will jump on anyone for still having faith that Spezza can be a 100-point player, and they believe that without Dany Heatley(notes) he'll be lucky to get even 80 again. Both the peanut butter and the jam can be very good on their own, folks. He's only 26 and we haven't seen anywhere near the season that will be his career best yet. It won't be this year, obviously, but just remember that Vincent Lecavalier(notes) had a disappointing 75 points at the age of 26 - before exploding for 108 the next year. Ride it out.

Mikhail Grabovski(notes), Toronto Maple Leafs: It's another one of Grabby's cold streaks and when the Phil Kessel line is the only line scoring, it will probably be a couple of weeks before he gets back into the swing of things. Frustrating to own. Bench him.

Sergei Samsonov(notes), Carolina Hurricanes: The talent is there -- just watch him with the puck. But for whatever reason (perhaps his wrist never fully healed from back in 2003), he's not beating the goaltender and neither are the players that he dishes to. His ice time is dropping faster than your jaw did when I said Spezza will be a 100-point player. Drop him.

Joffrey Lupul(notes), Anaheim Ducks: One point in eight games makes a great-looking season look very bad in an awful hurry. Teemu Selanne(notes) gets in his last gasp of mediocre-to-decent numbers while Lupul, the understudy, waits in the wings. The two are often linemates, but they don't mesh at all - six of his nine points have come while playing on the top line with Corey Perry(notes) and Ryan Getzlaf(notes) even though he played twice as many shifts on the Selanne line. Next year he'll hit his prime and I still think he'll be a 70-point player.  Bench him.

Darryl Dobbs is the founder of dobberhockey.com, a fantasy hockey community with over a dozen columnists, a daily blog and in-depth fantasy player rankings. His always accurate opinions can also be found over at The Hockey News in their fantasy section.

Mike Murphy(notes), the NHL's Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations, appeared on the NHL Live! radio program today to explain referee how the League let stand Dennis LaRue's epically awful call that robbed the Detroit Red Wings of a goal last night.

From NHL.com write Dan Rosen's transcript of the interview:

"In this particular case what happened is we (in the League's video replay room in Toronto) see the puck in the net and call the video goal judge and say, 'Blow the horn and get the referee over here. We see a puck in the net that hasn't been ruled a goal,' " Murphy said. "At that point the referee comes over and we have a discussion. They came to us and said, 'My intent to blow the whistle was there, I have this play dead before the puck crosses the goal line,' No more needs to be said. Once we hear that, video review is out of the process. It's a call made on the ice and it's a non-reviewable call. It's a whistle blown by the referee and it was blown or the intent to blow it was before the puck crossed the goal line."

Murphy's defending the indefensible here, which is why he gently placed LaRue under the bus today when he later said, "In all cases we want to get the right call. In this case it appears we didn't."

But the more the NHL explains it, the less this is LaRue's fiasco; the League's own ineffective fail-safes against these sorts of blown calls are the reason it looks like a second-rate operation in this debacle.

It's the NHL's fault for removing human beings from in back of the net in favor of technology. Had there been a goal judge in back of the Dallas goal, that red light is flashing before LaRue intends to blow anything. But the NHL felt it didn't need an old man in a blazer to do what cameras could do "better," and the owners felt those extra dollars in lower-bowl tickets were worth ending the decades-old tradition.

But it's also the NHL's fault for not trusting its technology more than human beings -- in this case, their referees.

The play again:

Why do we have video reviews? Because human error happens, whether it's due to speed or poor positioning or an error in judgment. All three of these things occurred on LaRue's folly, yet the NHL considers "intent to blow" a non-reviewable call. Why? Murphy attempted to explain it today on the radio, via Rosen:

"In some cases when you have video review people expect perfection and that's never the case. There are times when we don't want video review to intercede. We don't want video review refereeing a game."

Murphy later did one of those "if we review this, when what about that!" arguments, wondering if video reviews for hooking or slashing are next, which is a preposterous straw-man argument. No one wants that; this mess is different. 

This review is really no different than one that determines if a puck crossed the line on a bang-bang play. It doesn't matter that Dennis LaRue intended the play to be whistled dead because the puck was already over the goal-line when he intended the play to be over.

(Murphy said "the feeling was the save was made and then the puck trickled in"; did LaRue even know it went in? It's something, you know, kind of mandatory for professional referees. There's no scramble in front, no need to protect Dallas Stars goalie Alex Auld(notes) -- even it's a ridiculously quick whistle, there's no way the play "ended" before the puck crossed the line.)

The good news is that the NHL understands this. As Murphy said, this is now three or four times this kind of thing has happened this season, and he wonders if there's going to be a "procedure change" at some point to address it.

Does that mean a chip in the puck to indicate that it crosses the goal line? Maybe one day.

For now, let's just make the logical, palpable change: Allow the War Room in Toronto to overturn obvious blown calls like this; or get rid of the "intent to blow" miscarriages of justice and simply play to the sound of the whistle, rather than the thought of it.

Which is, you know, what they do in pee-wee hockey.

• Why Team Russia should be considered the favorite heading into the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. On a somewhat related note, the Kurtenbloggers said during our radio interview last night that they would trade Team Canada's goaltending for Team USA's. We're in negotiations with the Obama administration and the Canadian consulate to make that happen (suckers!). [THN]

• Close to 14,000 fans overwhelmed security and police as Sidney Crosby(notes) carried the Olympic torch last night in Halifax. No word if Crosby got so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that he forgot to accept the torch being passed by another competitor, as is his tradition. [Halifax News Net]

• Update on ye olde Marc Savard(notes) contract negotiations: Contrary to "an Internet report," the signing isn't imminent and the total payout may not hit $39 million. That said, Dupont doesn't dispute the seven-year term. [Boston Globe]

• An anonymous NHL executive tells the Ottawa Sun that the less-than-capacity crowd for the Battle of Ontario against the Toronto Maple Leafs has "got to be most disturbing for ownership" of the Ottawa Senators. Still averaging 18,151 fans a game in a building that seats 19,153; in other words, around half the teams in the U.S. wish they had these problems. [Sun Media]

• Speaking of the Leafs, the big news today was that they've been unable "to lease an unspecified number of the facility's 152 luxury suites" at Air Canada Centre this season, leaving some to wonder if fans have grown weary of the pitiful product. Again, to clarify: The inability to sell out 152 luxury suites and having average attendance at 1,102 fans less than 19,000 capacity are what passes for attendance problems in Canada during this economy. [Globe & Mail]

• Elisha Cuthbert will be the grand marshal of the Grey Cup parade in Calgary. Wonder who the first choice was ... [Sportress of Blogitude]

• Another quarter-pole look at the Hart Trophy candidates, another complete whiff on including any goaltenders. Not to hate on a much-hated guy 'round here, but can someone please tell me what Chris Pronger(notes) has done in bringing the Philadelphia Flyers to 25 points in 18 games that Ryan Miller(notes) hasn't done in bringing the Buffalo Sabres to 25 points in 18 games, from an impact and leadership perspective? [NHL]

• Not exactly happy times for the Minnesota Wild, via Michael Russo: "Lectures from Richards, smashing sticks against glass, Brodziak chopped stick in half, Koivu threw stick four rows deep." Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Devils just purchased Jacques Lemaire new slipper socks and sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!" [@russostrib]

• Looking that the NHL teams gaining or losing steam since the opening 10 of the season. That Buffalo Sabres number is an interesting one. [Hockey or Die!]

• Setting the odds for the Chicago Blackhawks' trade bait in order to fit everyone under the cap upon re-signing Kane, Toews and Keith. Dustin Byfuglien's(notes) odds might be a little long; ditto Cam Barker(notes). And are we to assume Kris Versteeg(notes) is off the table? [FanHouse]

• Having finished reenacting the Jeff Daniels bathroom scene from "Dumb and Dumber," Milan Lucic(notes) is en route to Atlanta for the Boston Bruins game against the Thrashers. [Bruins Blog]

• Max Talbot(notes) and Sergei Gonchar(notes) are expected back for the Pittsburgh Penguins, which should offset the 10 other injuries they'll suffer before faceoff tonight. It's been that sort of week. [Post Gazette]

• A Peter Budaj(notes) backer admits that he needs to be better for the Colorado Avalanche, even as a backup. [Jibblescribbits]

• Vince Vaughn waits for someone to make someone else's head bleed during the Flyers/Kings game last night. [NHL]

• The Dallas Stars place left wing Fabian Brunnstrom(notes) on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, retroactive to Nov. 7. [Stars]

• The Washington Capitals recall 19-year-old blue-chip defenseman John Carlson(notes) from the AHL. [Capitals]

• The graphic on this Hurricanes/Leafs preview makes us laugh and gives us vertigo. [Sportsnet]

• Good stuff from Dirk Hoag about a potentially pivotal moment in international hockey: Russia's Kontinental Hockey League getting ready to admit its first Swedish club, Stockholm's AIK. As one blogger points out, Stockholm may be a more appealing destination for NHL players who wish to play in the KHL than some of the other locales. [On The Forecheck]

• DetroitHockey.net with a good look at the Wings getting jobbed last night by the ref; it declares: "This is the kind of play that gives credence to conspiracy theories." [DetroitHockey.net]

• In case you haven't see it, The Chief at Abel To Yzerman has decided that calling a segment of the Detroit Red Wings fan base "the tin-foil hat society" is, in fact, having a deeply-held bias against the Detroit Red Wings themselves. Which is, naturally, what the readership he's built on a foundation of indignation wants to hear. [A2Y]

• And because of this unpleasantness with outraged Wings fans, we're now providing fodder for the Hatfields against the McCoys. [Mile High Hockey]

• We wish Second City Hockey would tell us how they really feel about press coverage of Chicago Blackhawks President John McDonough in local media.. [SCH]

• Bettman bashers: Bloge Salming has a video for you. Some people just like to watch the world burn. Very strong language warning. [Bloge Salming]

Finally, Puck Buddy Evan M. sent over the note:

Saturday you wrote an article about a no goal called in the Leafs game, where the puck crossed the line but the goal was called off because the video wasn't conclusive. Pretty funny because the exact same thing happened to the Sharks in their game Sunday vs. the Blackhawks. Puck crossed, goal called off. And, they both happened vs. Chicago.

Take a gander; it's not clear cut, but it speaks to the need of something more than the instant replay we have no to clearly determine whether the puck was in or out. Last night's debacle in Detroit being the most egregious case.

 

(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

You're going to disagree with this list.

It's not a prediction; it's a fact. Think about how many regular season, playoff, international, college, minor league and junior league games have been played in the last 10 years. Think about how many times you walked out of an arena during some random battle between two teams thinking, "That's the best hockey game I've ever seen." Think about the build-up, the storylines, the hype before now-classic (or, at the very least, near-classic) games, and how those contests lived up to them.

The 10 games we've selected here came from editorial debates, chats with fellow fans, some polling of the Twitter puckheads and our own recollections of classic games. We're confident they're all among the best for various reasons: Sometimes because of their context or legacy, and sometimes because they were just fantastically entertaining hockey games.

We imagine the comments will be filled with additions and suggestions, and that's how it should be with this list. Other rankings can be solidified statistically or through other analytical means; this one is a bit more subjective. We all have different frames of reference and criteria for great games; try telling a Team Canada fan that the Swedish gold medal above was a more rewarding game than the Canadians' in 2002.

With that, our 10 best games of the last decade are ...

10. Lightning thwart Calgary's Cup clincher (Stanley Cup Final; June 5, 2004)

Before 2004, the last time a team rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals was the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, when they finally gave Ray Bourque a ring and defeated the New Jersey Devils.

Before Game 6 in 2004, Bourque famously reached out to the Tampa Bay Lightning with advice on how to extend their series with the Calgary Flames, who held a 3-2 lead and had a chance to win the Cup on Canadian soil in Game 6.

Whatever he said, it worked, as the Bolts won on a Marty St. Louis goal in double overtime, 3-2, and eventually won the Cup in Game 7 at home. The teams traded scores in a four-goal second period; in the third, Martin Gelinas's "phantom goal" will forever live in playoff infamy. That controversy aside, it was a physical and entertaining game symbolic of the rest of this underrated series.

9. Toews nets shootout hat-trick in world juniors (World Junior Championships, Jan. 3, 2007)

A close game that eventually reached an unbelievable overtime followed by one of the most memorable shootouts in world junior hockey championship history.

The U.S. and Canada battled to a 1-1 tie in the 2007 tournament semifinals in Leksand, Sweden, with the late Luc Bourdon(notes) knotting the score at 12:09 of the third. In the 10-minute, 4-on-4 overtime, Carey Price(notes) stopped 12 American shots and the Canadians thwarted a 4-on-3 power play to force a shootout.

International rules allowed players to appear multiple times in the shootout, which ended up going 14 players deep between the rivals. Thus, Jonathan Toews(notes) and Peter Mueller(notes) had a fantastic duel, with Toews scoring on all three of his attempts and Price stopping Mueller to end the heart-pounding game. We're going to look back at this one fondly when some of these players are NHL superstars well into the next decade.

8. Chicago's historic comeback vs. Calgary (NHL Regular Season; Oct. 13, 2009)

How many fans left their seats to beat the traffic as the Chicago Blackhawks surrendered five goals in the first 11:43 of their game against the Calgary Flames this season? All they ended up missing was a six-goal comeback by the home team that tied an NHL record and set a Blackhawks' franchise record. Brent Seabrook(notes) won the game just 26 seconds into overtime, giving Chicago a 6-5 victory in perhaps the wildest regular season game in the decade. At least played indoors.

7. Double hat-tricks for Ovechkin, Crosby (Eastern Conference semifinals; May 4, 2009)

"Sick game. Sick goals by me and him."

That was Alex Ovechkin(notes) after the Washington Capitals' 4-3 win in Game 3 Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, which featured hat tricks from both Ovechkin and rival Sidney Crosby(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The notion that this showdown between the League's two greatest stars would meet expectations was hard to believe; that they'd blow them away with this mano-a-mano offensive duel was unfathomable. Ovechkin would break the game open by completing his hat trick in the third period; Crosby got his with a defiant goal late in the period.

It was like watching two ballers playing H-O-R-S-E on the playground, and one of the greatest superstar battles in recent memory -- even if the lingering memory is still Sidney complaining about there being too many hats on the ice.

6. Heritage Classic (NHL Regular Season; Nov. 22, 2003)

Obviously, the first regular season outdoor game in NHL history makes this list for the sheer spectacle of it all: The minus-22 degrees Fahrenheit temps with the wind chill; the legends game between Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens greats that looked like "Field of Dreams" if it had been filmed on an Alberta pond; and, of course, the aesthetics of 57,000 fans freezing their behinds off while Jose Theodore(notes) wore a toque over his mask.

Oh, and it was a pretty tight game, too. Richard Zednik(notes) scored the Habs' first and final goals, as Montreal won in the blustery elements by the score of 4-3. His second goal came 1:02 after Jarret Stoll(notes) cut the lead to 3-2.

The Cold War between Michigan State and Michigan in 2001 might have inspired this game; but its success was certainly a harbinger of the Winter Classic juggernaut we currently have on New Year's Day. As a total experience, the Heritage game was a classic.

5. Bruins, Canadiens trade leads in underdog upset (Eastern Conference quarterfinals; April 19, 2008)

The Montreal Canadiens were a 104-point regular season conference champion who entered this series with an 11-game winning streak against the Boston Bruins. The B's were a No. 8 seed that stumbled into the playoffs. The Habs held a 3-1 series lead until the Bruins smacked them, 5-1, at Bell Centre. Expectations were high that the Canadiens would dispatch their pesky rivals in Game 6; they were wrong.

In one of the most brutal, unpredictable playoff games of the decade, the Bruins erased four Montreal leads and scored four goals in the third period for a stunning 5-4 win in Boston. Marco Sturm(notes) scored the game-winner with 2:37 left in regulation. Montreal would go on to win the series, but this game remains an instant classic.

4. Canada defeats US women for gold (Winter Olympics; Feb. 21, 2002)

Yes, love for the ladies.

The context: It was a gold medal game in Salt Lake City, with the Canadian women seeking their first Olympic title (and the first for a Canadian hockey team in 50 years). The stakes, via CTV:

The Canadians had watched the U.S. skate off with gold in Nagano in 1998. Then after eight straight losses to the Americans leading up to the 2002 Games, the taunting was ripe at the Games.

Some U.S. women had scribbled on photos of Canadian players in the athletes' village, and the Canadians heard reports of insulting comments. Rumours fueled the Canadian fire - although they were later proven to be untrue - that the Americans were disrespecting the Canadian flag in the U.S. dressing room.

So yeah, there was some passion heading into this one. Truth be told, it was a fugly game: A penalty-laden affair that lacked flow thanks to a whistle-happy referee (an American, which only fueled Canadian ire). It was a slugfest, if the term can be applied to a fight-less form of puck.

That said, the Canadian women played through 12 penalties and gutted out what was a thrilling 3-2 victory over their bitter rivals. What this one lacked in artistry it made up for in contentious drama.

3. BU's dramatic comeback wins NCAA title (Frozen Four, April 12, 2009)

Any game that legendary Boston