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.

• 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]

 

("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]

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. 

 

(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.

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: 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.

 

(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.

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.

• 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.

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:

 

(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 University hockey coach Jack Parker calls "the greatest comeback I've been involved in" merits consideration on the list, right?

Down two goals to Miami University with less than a minute left in the NCAA hockey championship game in Washington, D.C., Nick Bonino assisted on one goal and then scored the game-tying goal with 17 clicks left. The title-clinching goal came at 11:47 of overtime, and it was a soul-crusher for Miami: Colby Cohen's shot deflected off a sprawling Kevin Roeder on defense and then floated over the glove of goalie Cody Reichard.

BU won the game, 4-3, in overtime for an instant Frozen Four classic. It was a championship game, so that plays into it being here; which is to say that we offer no disrespect to Holy Cross's "miracle" against Minnesota in 2006, which is a strong honorable mention.

2. Sweden keeps gold from Fins (Winter Olympics; Feb. 25, 2006)

The 2002 gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. will no doubt be remembered more fondly, what with the buried loonie on American ice and the 50-year Canadian gold medal wait finally ending. But the 2006 gold medal game in Turin was simply a better hockey game, and played at the highest level by a galaxy of star players on Sweden and Finland.

The all-Nordic final wasn't exactly what fans had anticipated, but Russia took out Canada and Finland eliminated Russia, while Sweden knocked off Czech Republic. Finland was seeking its first Olympic gold; Sweden was looking to avenge the enormous upset to Belarus in 2002.

The classic battle had a combined 36 NHL players involved, and the game-winning goal was a Hall of Fame effort: Peter Forsberg(notes) won the faceoff, passed to Mats Sundin(notes), who then passed to Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) for the tally early in the third:

Henrik Lundqvist(notes) of the New York Rangers made the lead stand up with some stellar play in the third. No overtime, no last-second heroics. Just two incredible hockey teams playing on an elite level on the biggest stage.

1. Sykora calls his shot against Detroit (Stanley Cup Final; June 2, 2008)

There were longer overtime games. There were more meaningful victories. There were better individual efforts. But as a total package of entertainment, star power and clutch performances, no game better symbolized the post-lockout NHL than this 4-3 triple overtime victory by the Pittsburgh Penguins over eventual Stanley Cup champions the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 at the Joe.

Goals by Pavel Datsyuk(notes) and Marian Hossa(notes). Moments of great defense, great offense and brutal physical play. Maxime Talbot's improbable goal with 34.3 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 3-3. Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) stopping 24 Detroit shots in three overtime periods and 55 for the game. And then, at 9:57 of the third OT, Petr Sykora(notes) happened:

Helping to elevate this game to elite status? The fact that Sykora called his shot between periods.

If nothing else, this game helped turn the 2008 finals into thriller, which created plenty of buzz for the 2009 rematch that saw the Penguins take the Cup. But no matter who won this game, the drama and dynamics made it the best of the decade.

During his time with the New Jersey Devils (twice), St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers, there were always bigger stars than Shanahan -- but few were embraced by die-hard puckheads like he was.

He had that blend of skill, smarts and brute force that made him a prototypical power forward in the NHL as his career progressed. As of last April, he led all active players in Gordie Howe Hat Tricks -- a goal, an assist and a fight in the same night -- with 17 in his career. Rare is the NHL player with 656 career goals and close to 100 entries on HockeyFights.com. But that's why we appreciated him.

Shanahan wasn't infallible off the ice. There was his chasing of the money as a young player that resulted in Scott Stevens arriving in New Jersey from St. Louis; there were trade demands, like the one that caused his departure from Hartford; there was the unpleasantness at that Florida bar back in 1995; and his abrupt divorce from the Devils this preseason.

Some of the good and the bad of NHL 2.0/post-lockout rules changes can be traced back to Shanahan's leadership and his 2004 "summit," where the shootout was arguably born. His vision for the game was sometimes too radical; 4-on-4 hockey in playoff overtime was nearly pushed through based on his strong support. 

But his charisma, especially as one of the NHL's better quotes, would always win us over in the end, because we understood he was a bit of a rogue. His respect for what makes hockey fundamentally appealing for fans and players alike had some touting him for NHLPA boss and others hoping he'd take over for Gary Bettman.

With his stats, a gold medal and three Stanley Cups, he's a prime candidate for the Hall of Fame; but Brendan Shanahan's contributions to the NHL were more intangible than any stat or trophy. After the jump, a full bio, tribute from the NHL and words from the man himself.

From the NHL:

NEW YORK (November 17, 2009) -- One of the National Hockey League's all-time greatest snipers and one of its fiercest competitors, Brendan Shanahan, announced his retirement today, bringing an end to his 21-year career.

"I would like to thank my family and all of the friends who have helped me achieve and maintain my childhood dream of playing in the National Hockey League", said Shanahan. "I am enormously grateful to all of my coaches and teammates I've had the privilege of learning from and playing along side of, throughout my career. While I always dreamed of playing in the NHL, I can't honestly say that I would have ever imagined that I'd be this fortunate and blessed. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has helped me fulfill this dream."

Shanahan finishes his career in 11th place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list with 656 goals. He stands 11th in games played with 1,524, 22nd in penalty minutes with 2,489, 23rd in points with 1,354 and 49th in assists with 698. He is the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals and leads all NHL players with 17 "Gordie Howe" hat tricks. One of the game's all-time clutch performers, Shanahan ranks fifth all-time with 109 game-winning goals. He tallied 237 goals on the power play, also fifth in NHL history, including a League-leading and career-best 20 in 1996-97.

The eight-time NHL All-Star recorded at least 40 goals in six of his 21 seasons and is one of only 11 players in NHL history to have 12 seasons of at least 30 goals. Shanahan's 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons rank second to only Gordie Howe's 21. He eclipsed the 50-goal mark on two occasions, tallying 51 in 71 games with St. Louis in 1992-93 and then reached a career high with 52 in 1993-94, when he also led the League with seven shorthanded tallies. Shanahan was voted to the NHL First All-Star Team twice (1994, 2000) and the NHL Second All-Star Team once (2002). Throughout his career, Shanahan was always one of the League's top ambassadors. He was awarded the King Clancy Trophy in 2003 for his exemplary work in the community. Shanahan enjoyed his finest offensive season in 1993-94, when he established career-highs in goals (52), assists (50), points (102), penalty minutes (211) and shots (397).

 

Appearing in the post-season in 19 of his 21 seasons, Shanahan ranks 35th on the NHL's playoff scoring list with 134 points in 184 games. He ranks seventh with a plus 31 rating, tied for 19th with 12 game-winning goals and is tied for 27th with 60 goals. In 1997, Shanahan placed second on the Red Wings in playoff scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points, while helping lead Detroit to their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. In 2002, he ranked second on the team and tied for third in the NHL with 19 points in 23 games, helping lead the Red Wings to their third Stanley Cup in six seasons.

Shanahan began his National Hockey League career with New Jersey, helping a young Devils team reach the post-season for the first time in team history in 1988. He signed with St. Louis prior to the 1991-92 season, led the Blues in scoring in 1993-94 with 102 points and still holds the franchise records for goals and points by a left winger in a single season. After a one-year stint with the Hartford Whalers, Shanahan was traded to the Detroit Red Wings early in the 1996-97 season. He was a key member of the leadership core that guided the Red Wings to three Stanley Cup championships. Shanahan led the Wings in goals or points in seven of his nine seasons in Detroit. He registered his 600th career NHL goal on October 5, 2006, as a member of the New York Rangers and spent two seasons on Broadway after signing with the team on July 9, 2006. He concluded his NHL career with the team that originally drafted him, the New Jersey Devils, during the 2008-09 season.

Internationally, Shanahan has represented Canada in several tournaments. He is one of only 22 players -- one of only four Canadians -- in the exclusive "triple gold" club, which includes those who have won the Stanley Cup and captured gold at the Olympics and IIHF World Championships. Shanahan led Team Canada to its first World Championship in 33 years in 1994, placing second on the team in scoring with seven points in six games. He was a member of the 1991 Canada Cup Championship team, Canada's fifth and final Canada Cup title team. The two-time Olympian represented Canada in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and then helped Canada capture its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Shanahan then became only the third player in NHL history to win an Olympic gold medal and Stanley Cup championship in the same year when the Red Wings captured the Stanley Cup in June of 2002. Additionally, Shanahan represented Canada in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

The native of Mimico, Ontario was originally New Jersey's first round selection, second overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He amassed 656 goals, 698 assists for 1,354 points in 1,524 NHL matches with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit, and New York.

Finally, the wit of Shanahan, from an ESPN broadcast in the 1990s:

Best of luck to a fan favorite.

• The blockbuster news of the morning is that the Chicago Blackhawks are close to signing Jonathan Toews(notes), Patrick Kane(notes) AND Duncan Keith(notes) to new deals, well ahead of restricted free agency for all three amigos. We covered the potential signings yesterday, and the mysteries remain: What will Kane and Toews be paid, and how long will Keith sign for when he could be unrestricted in 2011 with a one-year deal. [Tribune, Sun Times, and a witty Photoshop from Windy City Hockey]

• Kane. Toews. Hossa. On the same line. SICK. [ESPN Chicago, via Twitter]

• "Unless he's run over by a Zamboni or something goes awry at the Hair Cuttery, Alex Ovechkin(notes) returns to the ice tonight, when the Caps take on the New York Blueshirts." [NBC Washington]

• JP writes the book on Washington Capitals goalie Seymon Varlamov, and it's called "From Russia Without Glove(side.)" In other Caps goaltending news, Jose Theodore(notes) took leave from the team for personal reasons but Washington Post writer Tarik El-Bashir reports it should only be for one game. [Japers Rink]

• On Carey Price(notes): "At this time a year ago, Canadiens fans were firmly behind their franchise goalie - now they're on the cusp of eating him alive." [Canes Country]

• Math makes our brains hurt, but this piece by Behind The Net on the Toronto Maple Leafs' "percentage odds" of making the playoffs is a brilliant needle for the Toronto Star's hot-air balloon about the Leafs missing the cut. [Behind The Net]

• Attention Canes and Leafs Bruins fans: Top draft prospect Taylor Hall is now ranked No. 2 by Central Scouting for the OHL, behind Plymouth Whalers forward Tyler Seguin. [Hockey or Die]

• "Battle of the Blades" will have a second season on CBC with a new group of ex-hockey players; we demand more Proberts, less Richers. Interesting note that 40 percent of the audience for this show was male. Because no matter how many deny it, men love the idea that some meathead is going to drop a good-looking broad on her face. They don't watch NASCAR for the pit stops and they don't read lad mags for the articles. These are eternal truths. [Truth & Rumours]

• The National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) together raised more than $650,000 in support of Hockey Fights Cancer and other cancer-related organizations during October's Awareness Month. [NHL]

• Buddha uses our interview with the Florida Panthers' new co-managing partner as a jumping-off point for an interesting blog about "non-traditional" hockey markets and attracting fans. [Hockey Wilderness]

• The Colorado Avalanche recall forward Chris Durno(notes) from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. He led the Monsters with seven goals. [Avs]

• Hey, remember when Matt Duchene(notes) was kicking ass and looking like a Calder candidate? Yeah, not so much. [Frei]

• Peter Forsberg(notes) and Markus Naslund(notes) intend to play together on Modo for free. Ken Holland just spit out his coffee. [Nucks Misconduct]

• The Battle of Ontario is still the Battle of Ontario. [Sportsnet]

• CHICKEN WINGS UPDATE: There's an app for that. [Rovell]

• Weird Crap One Finds When Searching for All-Decade Photos, Vol. 1: Kelly Buchberger and a Los Angeles Kings fan, 2000. [Getty]

• Have the Anaheim Ducks tuned out Coach Randy Carlyle? Todd Marchant(notes): "Are people not listening to the coach? I don't see that at all. I've never seen that at all. I've never seen where players don't listen to the coach. ... For whatever reason, things just don't work out the way you want them to. They don't work out the way you draw them up." [Ducks Blog]

• The New Jersey Devils Travis Zajac(notes) on losing at the Philadelphia Flyers last night: "We knew we weren't going to win 41 on the road." No one likes a pessimist, sir. [Star-Ledger]

• Lowetide on a top Edmonton Oilers prospect: "I think Jordan Eberle(notes) may be approaching a level where we can begin to talk about him skipping Triple A and making the big club." [Lowetide]

• It's not our fight, but it is an interesting debate in Chicago whether or not to retire Jeremy Roenick's(notes) number with the Blackhawks. Didn't play long enough, never won a Cup vs. beloved player status. [Between The Circles]

• The ESPN doc on Gretzky will be shown on Wed. night on TSN. [TSN]

• Malik with a diagnosis for the current state of the Detroit Red Wings: "The blueprint thus far seems to emphasize a renewed commitment in terms of attention to detail, especially on defense, buying into the concept that, unlike last season, the team cannot simply float for forty or fifty minutes before exploding offensively, and that the supporting cast cannot assume that the now-absent point producers will get the scoring job (or preventing goals job) done for them, regardless of their age or experience." [Snapshots]

• We're big fans of Brandon Worley, and he's now the hockey blog overlord at SB Nation, taking over for Mirtle, who will soon be the best writer on the Leafs beat. And no doubt the tallest. Congrats to all. [Defending Big D]

• Tapeleg presents some easy ways to read copious amounts of hockey blogs. Speaking of which: Do any of you use mobile devices to read Puck Daddy? If so, does it display Ok? [Jerseys and Hockey Love]

• Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to lead the league in positive PR within their community. [The Confluence]

No. 1 Star: Matt Moulson(notes), New York Islanders

Simple concept: Go to the net. It's what Moulson does well, and it's the reason he scored two goals in the Islanders' 4-1 win at the Boston Bruins. Moulson scored on a scramble in front of Tuukka Rask(notes) (17 saves) for the game's first goal, and then deflected home a Richard Park(notes) pass after a Boston turnover for his 10th of the season. It appeared Moulson scored a hat-trick later in the game, but the goal was correctly rewarded to John Tavares(notes). 

No. 2 Star: Vincent Lecavalier(notes), Tampa Bay Lightning

A couple of soft goals against Jason LaBarbera(notes), but goals nonetheless. Vinny's backhander in the first gave Tampa a 1-0 lead, and he ended the scoring with a shot that ricocheted off the goalie into the net. The Lightning win on the road, 4-1, against the suddenly slumping Phoenix Coyotes; Lecavalier, who also assisted on a Marty St. Louis goal, now has four tallies on the season. It was his first multi-goal games of the season.

No. 3 star: Jack Johnson(notes), Los Angeles Kings

The Kings defenseman's power-play goal cut the Florida Panthers' lead to 2-1 in the second, and he would eventually score the lone goal of the shootout to give Los Angeles a 4-3 road win in Sunrise. He nearly had a chance to end the game in the overtime but couldn't control the puck on a breakaway.

Honorable mention: The Philadelphia Flyers played extremely well in front of Ray Emery(notes) (33 saves), at one point rendering the New Jersey Devils shot-less for 12 minutes, in their 3-2 victory that snapped the Devils' 9-game road winning streak -- one win short of tying the Buffalo Sabres' 2006 record. ... Zach Parise(notes) scored his 11th at the buzzer for the Devils. ... Backup Mathieu Garon(notes) made 23 saves before outdueling Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) in the shootout, giving the Columbus Blue Jackets a 3-2 win. Jakub Voracek(notes) had the game-winning tally in the shootout. ... Terrific win for the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 over the Anaheim Ducks, as they played without four key defensemen. Matt Cooke(notes) had two goals, Jordan Staal(notes) scored a shorthanded goal and Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) had 23 saves. ... Finally, the pair of Jamie Salé and former Oiler Craig Simpson won the inaugural "Battle of the Blades" figure skating competition on CBC, earning $100,000 for charity. Better luck next time, Claude. 

Did you know?: Don't look now, but the Islanders (21 games, 8 wins) and Rangers (20 games, 11 wins) both have 23 points in the Eastern Conference.

Dishonorable mention: Among the injuries to keep an eye on are Ryan Smyth(notes) (upper body) for the Kings and Peter Mueller(notes) (lower body) for the Coyotes. ... Patrice Bergeron(notes) was a minus-4 for the Bruins. ... Ryan Whitney(notes) was a minus-3 in front of his old fans in Pittsburgh. ... On the day Gary Bettman was in town to work out lease details with Glendale, the Coyotes drew an announced crowd of 9,503. ... Finally, Nikita Filatov(notes) might leave to play in Russia for a while, apparently because the KHL either doesn't require fighting for the puck or its young players to mature.

You can find a bunch of clips on YouTube ahead of tonight's finale at Maple Leaf Gardens, as former Edmonton Oilers forward Craig Simpson, former New Jersey Devils winger Stéphane Richer and former Colorado Avalanche sweetheart Claude Lemieux(notes) will find out who wins the ex-hockey-players-go-figure-skating competition to claim $100,000 for charity.

We wish we could watch it here in D.C., like fans in the northern states can; and yes, more-than-partially because of the babes. Why isn't it on NHL Network U.S., like CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" coverage?

Well, for starters no one knew it was going to kill in the ratings like it has. Watching Tie Domi and Bob Probert attempt double-axels was good for a certain amount of initial curiosity; no one was sure the audience would hold as it has, and that the product would remain entertaining.

But from what I've been able to gather, there's a difference for the NHL Network between using CBC coverage of live games with current players and simulcasting a show featuring former players in a non-hockey competition. "Battle of the Blades," though entertaining, doesn't necessarily fit the mission for NHLN.

Still ... figure skating, hockey tough guys who played in U.S. markets like Detroit, New York, Chicago and Denver; you'd figure someone would have grabbed this. Maybe importing that sexy hockey wives soap opera scared off Lifetime Network or something.

Oh well, good luck to the competitors. May your sequins shine bright and your pants remain tight. If you want a sense of the show, check out this clip featuring Shae-Lynn Bourne and Claude Lemieux skating to "Hallelujah" ... which Claude actually sings as well.

Heck of a voice for a turtle.

• Puck Buddy Bart sent in this photo from the Toronto Maple Lefas Leafs game at Chicago. "I thought you might enjoy this picture of Leafs fans having spelling issues. Mr. 'F' threw up in his cup in third period and the whole crew was kicked out. Stay classy!" Obviously, it's hard to verify that last statement but, uh, yuck.

• Alex Goligoski(notes) is out 2-3 weeks with a lower body injury, joining Sergei Gonchar(notes), Kris Letang(notes) and Brooks Orpik(notes) in street clothes as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Anaheim Ducks. Sewickley, PA's own Nate Guenin(notes) is called up for reinforcement. No word if Ray Shero asked the Ducks about renting Ryan Whitney(notes) for the night. [Tribune-Review]

• Joe Sacco called Saturday's game against the Canucks a "must win," and they lost. For a 12-5-3 team that's second in the conference. Coaches make rookie mistakes, too. [All Things Avs]

• There's been a bit of an ownership switcheroo with the Florida Panthers; meet the former minority-now-majority owners at their 1:30 p.m. presser on the Panthers' Web site. [Panthers]

• Interesting Larry Brooks column on Sean Avery(notes) of the New York Rangers, or what Brooks calls A.I.N.O. (Avery In Name Only). "Avery has been playing on tiptoes, as if walking a tightrope. He has largely been a cipher, reluctant to engage opponents. Fact is, Avery has been playing as if afraid that one mistake would consign him to the bench." [NY Post]

• Detroit Red Wings left wing Henrik Zetterberg(notes), Atlanta Thrashers left wing Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) and Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller(notes) have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Nov. 15. [NHL]

• Alex Ovechkin(notes) is fully practicing with the Washington Capitals in anticipation of the team's national television game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Even more interesting: He's practicing on the power play in front of the net rather than on the point, with Mike Knuble(notes) out of the lineup. Must be a whole new world seeing slap shots whizzing by his head instead of being the whizzer. [Capitals Insider]

• In defense of the trap. Yes, the New Jersey Devils' soul-crushing, excitement-draining, popularity-dampening defensive system. From a Pittsburgh writer, no less. [Tribune-Review]

• The 12 reasons why The Pensblog dislikes Chris Bourque(notes). Until we see proper documentation, we're considering this 11 reasons and baseless speculation about Creed. [Pensblog]

• Dave "The Hammer" Schultz will enter the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame this evening, and Broad Street Hockey pays him homage: "Dave Schultz may have only been a Flyer for four seasons, but those were four years that defined his career, his life, and an era of Philadelphia hockey." [Broad Street Hockey, and check out our own two-part interview with The Hammer from last year]

• Bobby Clarke believes Eric Lindros(notes) should be a Hall of Famer, which is either a sympathy vote or an attempt to justify trading Peter Forsberg(notes) and a Colorado Stanley Cup for him. [Philly.com]

• George James Malik with his usual sobering, insightful coverage of the latest NHLPA infighting. [Snapshots]

• Interesting column that argues for only one outdoor game in the NHL each season and only on Jan. 1, which misses the Canadian elephant in the room: When, exactly, will the NHL allow a team from north of the border into a television event in which Canadian ratings will not count towards U.S. Nielsen numbers? [Sportsnet]

• This Planet Hockey jersey has to be one of the most horrific things we've ever seen. It's like the lizard aliens from 'V' took over the Blue Jackets' logo. [eBay, thanks to Puck Buddy Jason]

• Lepore presents "Hockey in the Zeitgeist," a feature that seeks to explore hockey references in popular culture. Looking at his list, we're not sure where WWF's  The Goon fits in; all we know is that it better fit in. [Puck The Media]

• Andy Murray gives the St. Louis Blues some nap times. OK, technically it's time off, but we'll assume it was used to cuddling up with their wubbies. [Dispatch]

• Interesting perspective on the Allan Walsh/Montreal Canadiens Twitter flap from Jay Feaster, in the sense that it's a former GM examining the agent's outspoken online actions. [THN]

• Matt Cullen(notes) to the Blackhawks? [Canes Country]

• Spector has mucho trade talk on THN, including his take on the Cullen scuttlebutt. [THN]

• The Tampa Bay Lightning send down Ryan Craig(notes) and defenseman Matt Smaby(notes) to AHL Norfolk. [Lightning Strikes]

• Brent Burns(notes) has probably played himself off the Canadian Olympic team by being rather awful for the Minnesota Wild this season. What, exactly, happened to this guy? [Pucks Gone Wild]

• First-person essays on hockey road trips are money. Here's a New York Rangers fan's adventures in Ottawa. (In Kanata, to be accurate.) We're sure the noose went over well. [Blueshirt Banter]

• Finally, this ice-level fight between Tony Turgeon and Nate Baumbick from the Waterloo Black Hawks at Lincoln Stars game on Saturday offered an interesting view. [Hockey Fights]

 

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.

The Immaculate Reception. The Shot Heard 'Round the World. The Catch. The Hand of God. The Miracle on Ice.

All these pale in comparison with what must now be recognized as the greatest achievement in the history of human athletic competition: the Carolina Hurricanes actually winning a game.

Some might scoff. They might say the Hurricanes blew two separate three-goal leads to a team that is, in many ways, almost as bad as them (so bad that AHLer Robbie Earl(notes) was on the top line), played like garbage for the majority of the second half of the game and didn't do anything of note in OT except not lose, which, technically, isn't a bad strategy.

To those doubters -- nay, haters! -- I say pish-posh.

(Coming Up: Henrik Zetterberg(notes) dominates for the Red Wings; Thrashers' top line is better than yours; Sacco doesn't realize Avs have hit the wall; Maple Leafs humor; over-praising Stamkos; and Montreal somehow gives up 55 shots to Nashville, who somehow scores only two goals.)

That 14-game losing streak was merely a bump in the road for the Hurricanes, surely one of the five best teams in their division. Look at the stats for this unfortunate stretch: they forced overtime in four different games. Think bad teams like the Leafs can do something like that? They were only shut out twice.

Yeah, they allowed 54 goals in those 14 games, but you have to remember they were without Conn Smythe-winning goalie Cam Ward(notes) for two of those, so that number was bound to be inflated. And while you'd like to see the offense score more than 26 goals in the 14 games it took to snap this streak, you can't blame the Hurricanes too much. Eric Staal(notes), one of the best offensive players in the world, has missed the entire season with a case of the gout (at least I assume that's what happened, I haven't seen him in any games I've watched this season).

Anyway that's all behind us now. With this ultra-inspiring win over a high-quality opponent like the Minnesota Wild, the Carolina Hurricanes are on the fast-track to not only climbing up out of last place in the league and a lottery pick, but they're so close to getting it together and threatening for a playoff spot, since they're built for the long haul and not just the first quarter or so of the season. We've seen them go on that kind of season-defining, odds-defying run before.

Remember last year? They immediately went from being average to slightly-better-than-average when they hired Paul Maurice. They can do it again no problem once they fire him.

All they need is a little luck, a schedule full of nothing but games against lousy teams for the rest of the season, several huge free agent signings, a couple players to magically turn into superstars and for all their stars to get healthy for once.

Then the NHL will officially be on notice.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks trailed by just one goal through two periods, which is pretty good for them considering they played Detroit (their recent record against the Wings is fairly bad, you see). But then they gave up five goals in the third period, on just 12 shots, which is not so good.

Atlanta Thrashers: That Thrashers top line of Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) and Max Afinogenov centered by Nik Antropov(notes) is having a decent go of things. They've been together for three games and scored a combined 7-8-15, helping the Thrashers to two wins with five or more goals and three overall.

Boston Bruins: Great news for the Bruins that Savard is going to re-sign, but where do they think they're getting all this money against the cap? They're going to have to triple shift everybody because they're going to have nine players under contract, all of them making at least $4 million. Assuming Savard signs for the low-end of $6 million, the B's have something like $9 million in cap space (assuming the cap doesn't go down) with just 14 players under contract, with Blake Wheeler(notes), Mark Stuart(notes) and Vladimir Sobotka(notes) still RFAs. Good luck with that, Chiarelli.

Buffalo Sabres: Congrats to tiny little Tyler Ennis(notes), who scored a goal in his first ever NHL game, which his Sabres won over Philly.

Calgary Flames: The Calgary Herald's John Down on the Flames pasting the Leafs 5-2 Saturday night: "Where's the killer instinct?" Since when is 5-2, especially when you play like garbage, not an acceptably big scoring line for the second game of an all-road back-to-back? Did I have a stroke or something?

Carolina Hurricanes: It's cute that the Hurricanes thought Manny Legace's(notes) not being around the team for the breadth of this sad-sack streak was a positive. He got the go Friday night and promptly gave up four to the Islanders. Good work Manny!

Chicago Blackhawks: Just because the Blackhawks put Jeremy Roenick(notes) into their Hall of Fame doesn't mean they have to retire his number. That would just be silly. Ha ha ha ha. Wait, what?

Colorado Avalanche: Actual Joe Sacco quote after Saturday's ugly 8-2 loss to Vancouver: "No, I don't think we're hitting a wall. We've played a lot of good hockey up until that game. We've had some strong games, and tonight we just didn't have any energy and made mistakes, and it just ended up in the back of our net." Isn't that, like, the textbook definition of hitting a wall?

Columbus Blue Jackets: The good news is Mike Commodore's(notes) fatigue isn't due to anything wrong with his blood, the tests on which came back "pristine." The bad news is he's probably just out of shape after having the swine flu.

Dallas Stars: Mike Heika doesn't seem enamored of the Stars' play of late due to what he calls their lack of consistency. "Win one, lose one, win one, lose one," he says. Yeah, that sounds absolutely consistent. They consistently play well then play poorly. What's not to get?

Detroit Red Wings: Nice to see Ville Leino(notes) getting some credit despite having no points and being asked to do alarmingly little alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Danny Cleary(notes). "I just tell him, you know where I'm going to be and you know Z is going to have the puck," Cleary said, "so you've just got to find another spot on the ice where you can support Z and be in a position to shoot." Don't get in our way? Anyone could do that.

Edmonton Oilers: Fernando Pisani(notes) can't catch a break. He's been sent home again with ulcerative colitis, just days after he returned from a back injury.

Florida Panthers: David Booth(notes) still isn't ready to go, and in fact hasn't even begun skating yet, but Pete DeBoer did offer to let him go with the team to his hometown of Detroit.

Los Angeles Kings: Rob Scuderi(notes) will miss tonight's game at Florida with a lower body injury. 

Minnesota Wild: While we're congratulating people for their first NHL goals (boy there's been a lot of that going around lately), kudos are in order for John Scott(notes) and Robbie Earl, who scored their first goals: for Earl it was his first two: in the Wild's... loss to the Hurricanes. That's still weird to say.

Montreal Canadiens: All you need to know about Saturday's loss to Nashville -- final shots were 55-20 Preds. You can imagine how the rest played out.

Nashville Predators: Interesting bit of trivia -- the only Predator without a shot on goal in that game was Ryan Suter(notes) (in fact he didn't even attempt one). Steve Sullivan(notes), by contrast, had 11.

New Jersey Devils: Matt Halischuk(notes) and Tim Sestito(notes) each had an NHL first on the former's goal Saturday night. It was Halischuk's first goal and Sestito's first point. Halischuk, obviously, got to keep the puck.

New York Islanders: The Islanders have gone to overtime 10 times in 20 games this season. It's very likely that they'll shatter the 2006-07 Penguins' league record of 27. If they keep up the current pace, they will play about three full games' worth of OT.

New York Rangers: How PA Parenteau(notes), who scored the shootout winner against Ottawa, got a chance to try his hand at the NHL level: "Torts asked me if I was doing well in the minors in the shootout and I said, ‘I do pretty well, decent,' so he gave me a shot." So there ya go.

Ottawa Senators: It's okay that Alex Kovalev(notes) hasn't even begun to earn his two-year, $10 million contract because they don't get enough power plays to keep him motivated give him a chance to work his magic.

Philadelphia Flyers: Scapegoat for snapping the Flyers' six-game win streak -- Danny Briere(notes). Down a goal in the third period and on a power play, Briere retaliated to a crosscheck by high-sticking Chris Butler(notes) and getting a double minor. "It was just a reaction . . . but it's definitely not a penalty you want to take at that point," Briere said. New plan would be don't do it next time.

Phoenix Coyotes: Taking bets here, but does John McCain actually know anything about hockey or did he get these lines fed to him? He has a lot of very specific memories about the Coyotes. Hell, I barely remember Roenick's broken jaw myself.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Kind of a hollow overtime win, I'd think, when your team's No. 1 star is Patrice Bergeron's(notes) broken stick. Either that or Dennis Wideman(notes) and Matt Hunwick(notes) shouldn't have just stared at the puck Tim Thomas(notes) left for them behind the net.

Nice to come back and win, one supposes, but I'm not so sure you can count on wins like this presenting themselves on a nightly basis.

San Jose Sharks: Here's a weird stat for the Sharks prior to last night's game with Chicago -- the power play was fourth-best in the league at 24 percent, running at 32 percent on the road but just 10.3 percent at home.

St. Louis Blues: The reason the Blues aren't playing well is because Andy Murray is their coach hasn't gotten big stars like Keith Tkachuk(notes), Paul Kariya(notes) and David Backes(notes) playing the way they're capable of playing, which is to say not-terribly. Murray also gave David Perron(notes) a talking-to after a game earlier this week because he took a high-sticking penalty. That game was also the one in which Perron had a hat trick. Murray told him he was being selfish. True story.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Sentences like this are happens when general sports columnists write about a team they never cover and don't care about -- "He's still a teenager, but Steven Stamkos(notes) has already shown he could be a legend for the Lightning." Christ, let's let him get in a half-season of success before we start naming him the team's greatest player ever.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Okay I need to lie down.

Vancouver Canucks: Vancouver's best player lately has been ... wait for it ... Mason Raymond(notes). He had three points in the Canucks' 8-2 win over Colorado, bumping his total in the last eight games to 5-5-10. Where did that come from?

Washington Capitals: A look at the Caps' high-risk/high-reward style of hockey. Their 3.65 goals per game is the best in the league, and their 3.05 goals against per game is sixth-worst.

Play of the Weekend

Okay so this is by far the worst play of the weekend, but I had to put it somewhere: What in the hell was Olli Jokinen(notes) thinking picking a fight with anyone ever, let alone Francois freakin' Beauchemin.

Best part is Iginla skating over like, "What, uhh.. what's going on here Olli?"

Gold Star Award

Hank Zetterberg is on a little bit of a hot streak lately. His five-point game Saturday gives him 4-5-9 in his last three games. That'll play.

Minus of the Weekend

Okay I was pretty sure the Canadiens were bad this year. But how does anyone give up 55 shots to the Predators? The fact that they only scored two goals on 55 shots says a whole lot more about the quality of the Nashville attack than it does the Habs defense, which is embarrassingly bad.

Perfect HFBoards trade proposal of the week

User elicw10 has the perfect solution to "fix" the Senators' defense and give the Blackhawks some much-needed cap room.

Jack Skille(notes), Brian Campbell(notes) (7.1), Cam Barker(notes) (3.1 ish),1st

for

Anton Volchenkov(notes) (UFA), Alexei Kovalev (cheap buyou after season), Chris Kelly(notes) (cheap buyout)

Remember, he is fixing the Senators' D with Brian Campbell.

Signoff

I was once voted the worst audience participant Cirque Du Soleil ever had.

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.

The 29-year old Swede recorded his fourth career NHL hat trick and added two assists as the Red Wings rolled to an 7-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Zetterberg scored four points in the third period, including all three goals and the game-winner. It was his first multi-goal game of the season as the Red Wings won for the sixth time in seven games. 

No. 2 star, Henrik Sedin(notes), Vancouver Canucks

Another Swede, another hat-trick. Sedin's first NHL hat trick helped Vancouver rout Colorado in Denver 8-2. After cutting the Canucks lead in half mid-way through the third period, the Avalanche couldn't withstand the Vancouver attack and allowed four goals in the final eight minutes. The Canucks win ended a three game losing streak for the team and extended Colorado's current losing streak to three games. 

No. 3 star, Steve Sullivan(notes), Nashville Predators

Sullivan matched his season goal total in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens as he dad watched from the stands. His two goals were enough for the Predators to win for the sixth time in their last eight games. It was Nashville's second shutout of the season. Last season's Masterton Trophy winner also led both teams in shots with 11.

Honorable mention: Henrik Lundqvist's(notes) 35 saves paced the New York Rangers in a shootout victory over Ottawa ... Florida came back on the New York Islanders and improved their shootout record this season to 4-1 ... Congratulations in order to Tyler Ennis(notes) of the Buffalo Sabres, David Schlemko(notes) of the Phoenix Coyotes and Matt Halischuk(notes) of the New Jersey Devils for scoring their first NHL goals tonight. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy(notes) and New Jersey's Tim Sesito both recorded their first NHL points ... In their 1,000th win since they've been known as the "Devils", New Jersey extended their winning streak to eight games in a 5-2 win over Washington after the Capitals blew an early 2-0 lead ... Washington captain Chris Clark(notes) played in his 500th NHL game ... Capitals forward Thomas Fleischmann extended his personal best point streak to eight games ... Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) fought off the Leafs making 38 stops en route to Calgary's 5-2 win while Ryan Miller(notes) outdueled Ray Emery(notes) with 29 saves as the Buffalo got the best of Philadelphia 3-2 ... Jarome Iginla(notes) led the way for the Flames scoring twice including 1:21 into the game ... The Detroit Red Wings put a hurting on Anaheim 7-4 in a game that saw eight third period goals between the teams. Detroit was 3-6 on the power-play and despite the loss, Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf(notes) potted a goal and three assists ... Antero Niittymaki(notes) (29 saves) and Jon Quick(notes) (28 saves) had an old-fashioned goaltenders duel with the Los Angeles Kings eventually squeaking by the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in a shootout thanks to Anze Kopitar's(notes) winner ... Evgeni Malkin(notes) returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins and made an immediate impact with three assists, including one on Bill Guerin's(notes) game-tying goal with 0.4 seconds left to send it to overtime. Pascal Dupuis(notes) scored twice, including the overtime winner as the Penguins won for the first time in five games. Energized by Malkin's return was Sidney Crosby(notes) who added a goal and two assists ... Boston was impressive shorthanded and have now killed off 34 or their 35 penalties ... A day after being called out by their owner, the St. Louis Blues outshot the San Jose Sharks 39-16, but could only beat Evgeni Nabokov(notes) once in a 3-1 defeat. Nabokov's 38 saves improved the Sharks NHL-best record to 14-4-3. Two goals by Dany Heatley(notes) and Jed Ortmeyer(notes) 16 seconds apart in the second period were enough for San Jose  ... Marty Turco(notes) denied Shane Doan(notes) on a penalty shot to give opposing shooters a 1-14 record against the Dallas netminder ... Nashville threw the house at Montreal with 24 shots in the first period and a franchise record 55 on Carey Price(notes) in the game. Predators goalie Pekke Rinne made 20 saves and posted the shutout ... Steve Bernier's(notes) two goals along with three assists from Ryan Johnson(notes) and Mason Raymond(notes) helped Vancouver's rout of Colorado. Roberto Luongo(notes) made 32 saves for his first win since October 25th.

Did you know?: After recording two goals and two assists while opening the season in Stockholm, Paul Kariya(notes) has cooled off and has not scored a point in his last ten games.

Dishonorable mention: Jose Theodore(notes) failed to rebound from being pulled against the Islanders on Wednesday night and allowed five goals on 23 shots against the Devils ... Jonas Gustavsson(notes) let in two goals within the first 1:37 against Calgary, both in a 16-second span, and had an early night after getting yanked before the ten minute mark of the firs period ... Another Jonas who had a rough night was Jonas Hiller(notes) of the Anaheim Ducks who trailed Detroit 2-1 heading into the third period before the seams burst. The Red Wings scored five times in the final frame, including three in the final four and a half minutes ... Tampa Bay and St. Louis both had rough nights on the power-play going 0-for-6 with the extra skater ... The Colorado goaltending tandem of Craig Anderson(notes) and Petr Budaj had a rough night in front of the home crowd. Both allowed four goals as the Canucks romped to an 8-2 win ... Finally, you can be sure Patrice Bergeron(notes) will be looking for a batch of reliable sticks after the breaking of his twig led to the Penguins tying goal:

(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.)

As we continue our rankings of the best in the last decade, it's time to look back at the best single-season performances from players in the 2000s.

We're going for the total stats picture, and not just one facet (goals, for example). Looking back at the last 10 years, there have been some awesome performances, but only a few that cracked the NHL record book in a significant way.

Some criteria to keep in mind: This is a regular-season list. History matters, as far as records and awards. So does context, when considering where that particular season falls in with a players' career. The differences between the NHL before and after the lockout should be kept in mind in a grain-of-salt way, although they're not a primary consideration here. Oh, and if your favorite forward isn't here, it's because we tried to make room for defensemen and goalies.

With that, the 10 best individual statistical seasons of the last decade are ...

10. Jaromir Jagr(notes), New York Rangers, 2005-06

When a player has 62 goals and 149 points in a season to his credit, Jagr's 2005-06 campaign probably won't get the credit it deserves. But 54 goals and 123 points on a defense-oriented Rangers team was remarkable. The problem: He didn't lead the League in any major offensive category, and only won the Pearson as the players' MVP. You'll find out why later.

9. Jarome Iginla(notes), Calgary Flames, 2001-02

Iggy's 52 goals are still a career-best, and he led the league in goals and points (96) in a season that also saw him win the Pearson. (Jose Theodore(notes) won the Hart for the Montreal Canadiens.) Iginla led the NHL in goals per game (0.63), goals created per game (0.49) and even-strength goals (35) in 82 games. Terrific season for a true star.

8. Peter Forsberg(notes), Colorado Avalanche, 2002-03

An absolutely dominant season from the Hart Trophy winner, as Forsberg led the NHL in points (106) and assists (77) while helping Milan Hejduk(notes) to the NHL lead in goals (50). Forsberg would finish with 29 goals on the season. The two money stats: Both Forsberg and Hejduk were an incredible plus-52 on the season, and Forsberg's 106 points in 75 games gave him a higher points-per-game average (1.41) than Mario Lemieux's (1.36), despite Mario's 91 points in 67 games.

7. Pavel Bure, Florida Panthers, 1999-2000

We mentioned Iginla's even-strength goals, and that's one of the most mind-blowing numbers in Bure's masterful 58-goal, 98-point season for the Panthers: He scored 45 goals playing 5-on-5 hockey, the highest total of the decade and 17th all-time in the NHL. Bure led the NHL in game-winning goals (14, and fourth all-time) as well as shots (360). He actually scored more goals (59) the following season, but his plus/minus fell from plus-25 to minus-2.

6. Nicklas Lidstrom(notes), Detroit Red Wings, 2005-06

At 35 years old, one of the best defensemen in NHL history posted 80 points in 80 games. He was a plus-25 and won the Norris Trophy (you know, as usual). In the context of his career, it'll likely be Lidstrom's greatest offensive season.

5. Mike Green(notes), Washington Capitals, 2008-09

Lidstrom has the context, but Green has the history. Green's NHL record for defensemen with goals in eight consecutive games grabbed headlines, but it's his 31 goals overall that was the outstanding achievement. He was the first NHL D-man to break 30 since Kevin Hatcher in 1993, scored 73 points in 68 games and was a plus-24. James Mirtle ran the numbers and calculated that Green had the second-best goal-scoring season for a defenseman in NHL history. Yet in true hockey fan fashion, all anyone remembers are his invisibility in the playoffs later that year and losing the Norris to Zdeno Chara(notes) ...

4. Joe Thornton(notes), Boston Bruins/San Jose Sharks, 2005-06

There's only one reason why Jagr's 2005-06 season isn't ranked higher, and his name is Joe Thornton. Splitting his season between the Boston Bruins and the San Jose Sharks thanks to that infamous trade, Thornton posted the highest point total of the decade (125) with a 96-assist season that ranks 16th in NHL history and 3rd for players not named Gretzky or Lemieux. He won the Art Ross and the Hart. Only downside: He helped Jonathan Cheechoo(notes) score 56 goals, a number that would eventually drive fantasy hockey owners into madness as the decade progressed.

3. Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2000-01

The comeback year for Mario, and one of the most impressive offensive seasons in recent NHL history -- given the sample. Lemieux's 35 goals and 41 assists in 43 games gave him the NHL lead in goals per game (0.81), assists per game (0.95), points per game (1.77) and goals created per game (0.68). His points-per-game average was the highest of the decade and the best in the League since Jagr in1996.

If you want to project what this total might have been had he played 82 games, Mario's no doubt higher on your list. But we're going to deal with the real numbers here, and they landed him a Hart Trophy nomination in 2001 and at No. 3 on this list.

2. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, 2007-08

The highest NHL goal total since Mario's 69 in '96, Ovechkin's 65 goals and 112 points earned him the League lead in both categories and the Hart Trophy for MVP. He led the league in even-strength goals 43 AND power-play goals (22). In total, Ovechkin led the NHL in 11 different offensive categories in 2007-08. One assumes he's got a better offensive season still in him; but so far, his achievement as a 22-year-old (!) player is his masterpiece. 

In fact, it's the best performance of the decade. For a forward. Which brings us to ...

1. Martin Brodeur(notes), New Jersey Devils, 2006-07

Again, we have to consider context here. His goals-against average (2.18, third) didn't lead the League and wasn't among the best of the decade. But in the context of Brodeur's career, he posted the second-best save percentage (.922, third in NHL) while facing the most shots in his career (2,011 in 78 games, second in NHL).

In the context of NHL history, his 48 wins is the highest total for a goalie ever. His 12 shutouts led the NHL; and if you strip away all the names from the 1920s, it's third-highest total in League history behind Tony Esposito (15) and Dominik Hasek(notes) (13) for a single-season. He won the Vezina, though Sidney Crosby's(notes) 120-point season earned him the Hart.

Honestly, Brodeur and Ovechkin are neck and neck at the top of this list. If the argument is that Brodeur can't lead this list if he didn't lead the League in GAA and save percentage, that's a fair argument. But so is the fact that one of the best goalies in NHL history posted his most impressive statistic season at 34 years old, post-lockout and seeing more rubber than an interstate. And ask Roberto Luongo(notes) and Evgeni Nabokov(notes) how tough it is to reach 48 wins.

(Cue Devils homer accusations in 3...2...)

No. 1 star, Ryan Miller(notes), Buffalo Sabres:
The Sabres' goalie continued his Vezina-like start by out-dueling Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), who was sporting an 0.99 goals-against average over his last four games. Miller made 25 saves in regulation and three out of four in the shootout as Buffalo snapped the Flames' four-game winning streak. The league leader in goals-against average, Miller has sparked the Sabres into a tie with the New Jersey Devils for having allowed the fewest number of goals for the season with 35 apiece.

No. 2 star, Rick Nash(notes), Columbus Blue Jackets:
The team's captain scored a goal in regulation and the winner in a shootout to help the Blue Jackets bounce back from their worst home loss in franchise history earlier in the week to knock off the visiting and desperate Ducks. Nash put two shots on goal, was credited with one block and one hit during and a season-high 26:06 of ice time spread over 34 shifts.

No. 3 star, Kyle Okposo(notes), New York Islanders:
The 21-year-old second-year forward, suffering from swine flu that forced him to miss New York's most recent game, intercepted a clearing attempt and snapped a shot past Carolina goalie Manny Legace(notes) with 14.4 seconds remaining in overtime to improve the Islanders to 6-2-3 in their last 11 games. Okposo also added an assist during his impressive 21:23 of ice time.

Honorable mention: Brian Pothier(notes) scored a go-ahead goal, Dave Steckel(notes) won 15 of 18 draws and goalie Semyon Varlamov(notes) stopped 29 of 30 shots as the Capitals won a fourth straight without the injured Alexander Ovechkin. … Islanders rookie John Tavares(notes) enjoyed the first multi-goal game of his career with a pair at Carolina. … Two goals and a pair of assists apiece from Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) and Maxim Afinogenov(notes), along with two goals from rookie Evander Kane(notes), led the Thrashers' assault of the Kings. … Miikka Kiprusoff made 32 saves during his 400th career game. … Mathieu Garon(notes) had 32 saves and improved to 17-4 in shootouts to win during his first home start for Columbus. … Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith(notes) scored a goal and added an assist during 26:27 of ice time.

Did you know?: The Hurricanes have allowed three or more goals in 11 straight games and have not won since Oct. 9.

Dishonorable mention: The Ducks went 0-for-5 on the power play in Columbus and are without a power-play goal in 11 chances over two games. … Defenseman Bryan Rodney turned the puck over with less than 15 seconds left in overtime that resulted in the game-losing goal for the Hurricanes, who tied a franchise record by going a 14th straight game without a win. … Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn(notes) had a brutal giveaway to Patrick Kane(notes) to allow Chicago to jump out in front early on Toronto.

 

No. 1 Star: Tomas Vokoun(notes), Florida Panthers

"He deserved the two points. It was nice to get them for him," said Panthers Coach Peter DeBoer of Vokoun, who stopped 40 shots in three periods and the overtime plus four more in the shootout to give Florida a 1-0 victory in Boston. Cory Stillman(notes) had the lone goal in the shootout. Vokoun was at his best in the second period, when the Boston Bruins outshot the Panthers 19-1.

No. 2 Star: Ilya Kovalchuk(notes), Atlanta Thrashers

Welcome back, captain. Out since Oct. 24 with a broken bone in his foot, Kovalchuk had a three-point night to lead the Thrashers to a 5-3 victory at the New York Rangers. His blast from the point set up Rich Peverley's(notes) power-play goal in the second, and Kovalchuk struck just over two minutes later with a sniper-shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist(notes) (22 saves). He had the primary assist on Maxim Afinogenov's(notes) empty-netter to clinch the victory. Kovalchuk had six shots in 22:22 of ice time.

No. 3 star: Henrik Zetterberg(notes), Detroit Red Wings

The game-winner for the Wings came from a special player on a special shot: Zetterberg's forehand/backhand move that beat Roberto Luongo(notes) from inside the circle and helped Detroit win, 3-1. "Not a lot of guys can do that, only a few around the league," said Luongo. Jimmy Howard(notes) had 31 saves for the Wings.

Honorable mention: Steven Stamkos(notes) just missed the cut for the top three after scoring his 13th of the season on a shorthanded goal, setting up Ryan Malone's(notes) game-tying goal with 14.7 seconds left in the third and then tallying the only goal in the shootout to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild. Hey, at least Owen Nolan earned the Wild some style points. ... The New Jersey Devils moved to within a game of tying the Buffalo Sabres' 2006-07 record for consecutive road wins to start a season, going 9-0-0 with a 4-1 victory at the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zach Parise(notes) had a goal and an assist; Marty Brodeur had 25 saves. The good news for the Pens: Sidney Crosby(notes) snapped his five-game scoreless streak with a first-period assist. ... The Nashville Predators won a gritty, at times brutal game at the St. Louis Blues, 3-1. Jordin Tootoo's(notes) first of the season late in the third period was the game-winner. ... Tomas Plekanec(notes) had three assists and the Montreal Canadiens power play went from 1-for-16 to 2-for-2 in the Habs' 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. ... Stephane Robidas(notes) was the surprising shootout hero and Marty Turco(notes) made 30 saves in the Dallas Stars' 3-2 win at the San Jose Sharks. Mike Modano(notes) scored his first of the year; Dany Heatley(notes) had his 12th for the Sharks. ... Finally, Danny Briere(notes) had two goals and Ray Emery(notes) made 22 saves in his first game back in Ottawa against the Senators to lead the Philadelphia Flyers over the Senators, 5-1. Said Emery: "As long as you win, you're satisfied. You can't look too much into things. Just do what you normally do." Sure.

Did you know?: Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom(notes) is now 11-1-2 lifetime against Southeast Division teams.

Dishonorable mention: Another night, another questionable hit: St. Louis winger David Backes(notes) was given a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding J.P. Dumont(notes) of the Predators. Later, Ryan Suter(notes) leveled Paul Kariya(notes) into the end boards on a borderline hit. ... The good news? The Coyotes had their fourth-highest attendance of the season. The bad news: It was 10,064 paid. ... Finally, Tim Thomas(notes) gets credit for a shutout; the Bruins get no credit for failing to give him even one goal in support.

Here are your

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:30 p.m. EST. The Devils try to move to 9-0-0 on the road to start the season. The Penguins attempt to avoid getting shut out for the third straight game for the first time in franchise history. Sidney Crosby(notes) attempts to break a five-game scoreless streak before the "What's wrong with Sidney?!" stories detonate across the hockey world with the fury of a thousand exploding suns.

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Ottawa Senators,  Ottawa Senators vs. Philadelphia Flyers 7 p.m. EST. (Ed. Note: 24-hour brain fart that this game was in Ottawa. We are teh dumb.) Ray Emery's(notes) return to the scene of the crimes the media in Ottawa whispered about but never actually reported. Just another game for Emery, according to Broad Street Hockey. Scarlett Ice is hosting a live blog of the game, which will be a good time whether Emery shuts the Senators out or gives up five goals. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Phoenix Coyotes, 9 p.m. EST. The Coyotes are still seventh in the NHL in goals-against average, despite having given up over four in three of their last four. Montreal has lost five of seven. The game is a sellout ... oh, wait, those dudes who want to move Phoenix home games against Canadian teams to Saskatoon don't actually own the Coyotes yet? OK, so it turns out a few tickets are actually still available ... Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Check out the Y! Sports scores and schedule page for previews of the other three games tonight.

Evening Reading

• That was quick: Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) is back from a broken foot for the Atlanta Thrashers, playing the New York Rangers tonight. [NHL]

• Vancouver Canucks forward Darcy Hordichuk(notes) has been suspended automatically for one game, while head coach Alain Vigneault has been fined $10,000.  Hordichuk was assessed an instigator penalty at 15:04 of the third period.  He will miss tonight's game at Detroit. [NHL]

• The Colorado Avalanche unleash the new third jersey. We'll probably Pass/Fail this on Friday after seeing some of the Avs' fans reaction to it. [Avalanche]

• The NHLPA announces that outgoing MLBPA Executive Director, Donald Fehr, will work with members of the Constitution and Search Committees as the players association attempts to put the "organized" back in "organized labor." [NHLPA]

• The NHL has reinstated Henry Samueli as owner of the Anaheim Ducks. Samueli looks at the standings, considers asking for a stay of reinstatement. [LA Times]

• Interesting look at the booing Jack Johnson(notes) received in Carolina, as the Los Angeles Kings defenseman actually just played his first game there since never signing with the team that drafted him. [Inside The Kings]

• Finally, it's a little risqué and not for all audiences, but the Blackhawks Urban Dictionary is also hilarious. Punching the Cabbie indeed. [Second City Hockey, and again - PG-13 stuff]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: Somehow, "Unpublished NHL Books" escaped from our live chat and into the Twitter universe, where it turned into a hilarious thread all afternoon. At the end of the day, this still made us laugh the hardest, from Flyers Goal Scored By ...

"The 5 People You Meet in Heaven are All Mike Richards(notes)" by Pierre McGuire.

Thanks to everyone for the laughs.

Bold Prediction: Luongo backstops the Canucks to a regulation win in Detroit.

There's never been a better time to make a pitch for one of the Big 3 in your keeper league. Alex Ovechkin(notes) and Evgeni Malkin(notes) are on the shelf for the first lengthy time of their careers and Sidney Crosby(notes) has gone five games without a point -- also a first. The last time their value was this low, Puck Daddy was just a twinkle in Greg Wyshynski's eye.

Injury replacement of the week: Andrew Ebbett(notes), Chicago

It's extremely hard to get into the top six in Chicago if you're a bubble player. Even getting onto the third line, which is fairly productive for this team compared to other teams, is no easy task. With Dave Bolland(notes) now on the shelf for what should be months, the Blackhawks are doing some shuffling around. Right now, this includes putting Kris Versteeg(notes) at center and moving Ebbett up to Patrick Kane's(notes) line. Cha-ching!

Are you drunk?

Nope, I'm serious. Well, 10 beers. But I'm still serious. Last season when Teemu Selanne(notes) went down, Ebbett came in and posted nearly a point per game for several weeks. Here is a second "Selanne" opportunity.

The Keepers

Paul Stastny(notes), Colorado Avalanche: Although it seems as though he is on every Colorado goal these days, statistically it is only about one in three. It's hard to believe that Stastny is still only 23, given the fact that his last two seasons have been virtual write-offs due to injury. Let's hope that the bad luck is behind him and he tops 80 points for the first time.

Loui Eriksson(notes), Dallas Stars: He'll be a regular in the 70-point club. It may not happen this year, (although it certainly looks promising at the moment), but the 24-year-old Swede will get there. He's making Stars fans forget all about that other 24-year-old Swede on the team who received a hell of a lot more hype 18 months ago.

Ryan Miller(notes), Buffalo Sabres:  Coming off of what was his best season statistically, Miller is topping those numbers. Health permitting, he'll get in 70 games and with Buffalo actually winning some now, he'll garner 42 Ws. Looking at the numbers of Buffalo's No.2 and No.3 guys, you can bet they pulled all the strings they could to ensure that Miller got his H1N1 shot.

Drew Doughty(notes), Los Angeles Kings: He's arrived early. Doughty didn't take his time getting to be a solid point producer, like Chris Pronger(notes) did. No, at 20 he'll get at least 49 points, like Dion Phaneuf(notes) did. The key lies in the team around him. Los Angeles, as a club, has come into their own and Doughty is picking up an assist on everything they do. In fact, NHL statisticians just awarded him with an assist because "Los Angeles" was mentioned three times in a Doughty-related paragraph.

The Sleepers

David Clarkson(notes), New Jersey Devils: It was an interesting offseason for David. The trade from St. Louis to New Jersey was underreported, as was his name change from "Backes" to "Clarkson". In all seriousness, Clarkson's 65-point, 150-PIM pace is where we all expected Backes, who is just 31 days younger, to be at. He's being used on the power play and, while he should slow down a bit, his production is for real - think 50 points for this season.

Tomas Fleischmann(notes), Washington Capitals: My favorite dark horse from the summer is back in the lineup and is lighting it up to the tune of more than a point per game. If he can steer clear of the weird injuries/ailments (blood clot?), we're golden.

Alex Tanguay(notes), Tampa Bay Lightning: Poolies have stopped bailing on this guy, although they may still have a low opinion of him. After he posted just two points in nine games, most of which were played on a line with Vincent Lecavalier(notes), fantasy owners were giving up on him faster than Ken Hitchcock can sit Nikita Filatov(notes). With seven points in his last six, Tanguay is back on track and is now rewarding the fantasy owners who were patient. Both of them.

Jarret Stoll(notes), Los Angeles Kings: Stoll has eight points in his last eight contests and is on pace for 63, the second highest of his career. Looking at this kind of production, I think he should have sent Rachel Hunter that email sooner...

Bench 'em or Drop 'em

Paul Kariya(notes), St. Louis Blues: I have a lot of difficulty wrapping my head around Paul Kariya being washed up at 35. Especially when he had 15 points in 11 games a year ago and kicked off this campaign with seven in his first eight. But Coach Andy Murray is struggling to generate offense and taking a two-time 100-point player off the power play is the obvious way to go. Wouldn't you do the same? It is what it is, though -- Kariya is not on the PP and he is pointless in eight. Bench him.

Michael Ryder(notes), Boston Bruins: Montreal's favorite son proved to Habs fans last year that he's not done. This year, it's another story and it's clear that he struggles without an elite set-up man as his centerman. With Marc Savard(notes) on the shelf for a couple of weeks yet, don't expect any hat tricks from Mr. Ryder. Bench him.

Radim Vrbata(notes), Phoenix Coyotes: After he tallied four points in his first two games I was thrilled. It's one of those situations where you have a hunch on a player and you steal him late in a draft and he pays off big. I was so proud that you could have mistaken me for the Staal parents. After all - I took him in not one, but two drafts very late. With his three points in 15 games since... I feel as deflated as Pavel Brendl's parents. Needless to say, he's off my team now. Drop him.

Matt Stajan(notes), Toronto Maple Leafs: Stajan followed up a breakout season with a strong exhibition run and then seven points in eight games to start 2009-10. Now he's playing with Wayne Primeau(notes) and Colton Orr(notes) and has just one point in eight. If he were any more physical, he'd be playing with Phil Kessel(notes). But he plays about as tough as Sean Avery(notes) does when Phaneuf is around. A change of scenery would be best. 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.

This Associated Press clip called "Hockey Coach Lashes Out Over Ref Call" had gone viral; and Sapergia, who's also the Southern Professional Hockey League expansion team's president and general manager, was suddenly a YouTube sensation:

The tantrum occurred in the first period of a game played Nov. 6 in Pensacola, Fla. The Gatorade bucket hit the ice, then a medical kit and over two dozen hockey sticks. "If it wasn't bolted down, it was gone," he said. "At the end, it was comical. My assistant coach says to me, 'Hey Brent, you missed three rolls of tape down there.' "

Sapergia casually tossed the tape rolls on the ice before making his exit from the bench, having been ejected ... for the second-straight night. The Southern Professional Hockey League generally frowns upon such behavior, and it took the unusual step of banning Sapergia from coaching in the league "indefinitely" after the Pensacola freak-out.

"That's the thing that shocks me," he said through an incredulous chuckle. "It almost makes me think that it's personal."

Luckily for the IceGators, Sapergia had already lined up a new coach for the team: John Gibson, who was basically hired during the game after Sapergia left the bench. "Lo and behold, he got the job at least two periods before I was going to offer it to him," said Sapergia.

Why did the coach go nutty and litter the ice? He claims it was actually to protect his players. But others wonder if it was all a publicity stunt for a fledgling minor league hockey team.

Sapergia is a former pro player for 13 years who had contracts with the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils. He fielded calls from all sorts of media about his tantrum on Wednesday after it aired on ABC and on Canada's TSN network; some of whom were less than understanding about his motivations.

"The guy from 'Inside Edition' was throwing rocks at me. As if I was part of the problem instead of part of the solution," he said. 

Sapergia feels his actions were justified. The previous night against Pensacola, Sapergia said, he saw two players cut for 20 stitches without any penalties called. Last Friday, the penalties were already 7-2 in favor of the Floridian team in the first period when Sapergia said he saw one of his players take two crosschecks to the head -- one of them when he was without a helmet. The coach demanded a power play from the official, who instead issued a penalty to the IceGators.

"At that point I felt our players weren't being protected. Something needed to be done," he said.

His actions actually inspired his players, who rallied from a 5-1 deficit to eventually lose 5-4. "My players know that I have their back now," said Sapergia.

The SPHL has been around for six years, but it's the IceGators' first season in the league. (Another team called the Louisiana IceGators had played in the ECHL from 1995-2005, based out of Lafayette.) The team's first coach, Ron Handy, was reassigned after an 0-3 start to become an assistant GM "focusing on community relations and off-ice operations." Sapergia stepped behind the bench as interim coach, leading the team to a 2-2 record before Gibson took over.

(Out of curiosity: How's Gibson's throwing arm? "You know what? I asked him if he had ever done this in his career and he said he did," said Sapergia. "He tossed all the sticks and only got a one-game suspension for it.")

It's been a bit of a rocky start for the franchise, which has led to some speculation that Sapergia's tantrum was staged in order to create some interest in the team. The mega-popular Deadspin blog wrote about the video and wondered:

"Is it too cynical to think that the Bill Veeck of Southeastern Minor League hockey cooked up this rant to draw some attention to his floundering expansion team?"

Sapergia denies his actions were premeditated or a moment of self-promotion.

"People can say it was staged all day, but believe me: If I was going to stage it, I got another thousand things I would have done on my way off the ice there," he said. "Honestly, that's nothing you stage. It was about me feeling our players weren't being protected by the rules and the officials."

He said the attention the tantrum's received has surprised him, as it's not exactly the first time an agitated coach has littered the ice in frustration. He also said that any backlash for his actions is misguided.

"No one got hurt. No one got injured. If there's a black-eye, I guess it's me looking like a loon," he said.

"But if you show me a coach that never gets kicked out of a game, I'll show you a coach that doesn't care enough."

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Puck Buddy Peter W. sent over this inexcusable Boston Bruins Foul:

Saw this guy outside TD Garden after the Bruins-Oilers game on Halloween. It's certainly in the spirit of the "Broduer" jersey from the last installment, but there is one important thing that you can't see in the photo: IT'S SIGNED BY CAM NEELY!

My friend wondered if Cam autographed it correctly, or just went with the way the jersey had his name. Someone needs to have and intervention with this guy.

Well, an intervention or a slight reeducation courtesy of Sea Bass.

Let's assume this isn't an egregious misspelling but rather some cutesy play on words. ("Hey, my name is Neil and I love Cam Neely, so ...") Even then, it's still a Foul, because it opens the kind of Pandora's Box that eventually leads to the guy from the Black-Eyed Peas wearing a Ted Will.I.Ams Red Sox jersey.

Meanwhile in the capital of both the United States and hockey sweater fouls, 'Yoshietree' captured one of the most exceptional hockey fashion statements we've seen since the infamous Florida Panthers gown: It's the Alex Ovechkin(notes) sport jacket jersey.

Yoshietree rhetorically asked if this was a Foul, and answered: "I don't think so ... this takes 'class' to a new level."

We agree. In fact, we'd have a lot less angst towards the suits in the lower bowl if they were all wearing suits like these to their respective arenas. 

(Coming Up: Swine Flu Fouls; Mocking and/or honoring the Maple Leafs; the Devils remember Scott Gomez(notes); the Kings have Cup Fever; worshiping at the altar of Patrick Kane(notes); and a Bobby Orr Foul that might be a Hall of Fame candidate.)

And here ... we ... go.

TOO SOON!

There's actually been some debate around Puck Daddy HQ (thanks to Japers) as to whether an old Iowa Chops (R.I.P.) jersey with "H1" as the name and "N1" as the number would have been a Foul.

This is probably as close as we'll get, courtesy of Puck Buddy Steve Z., who snapped the image at a Rockford Icehogs (AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks) game.

Incidentally, No. 13 on the Hogs is defenseman David Phillips, and looking at the dude we think "Aiken" might be more appropriate on the nameplate.

The Vincent Lecavalier(notes) Montreal Canadiens jersey isn't anything too out of the ordinary, as merchants were selling them during the Trade Vinny fervor of last season. But Nerrissa B.'s breakdown of the Foul is an important one to remember, going forward:

A Montreal Canadiens Lecavalier jersey. Maybe he was hoping for the trade? Even so, Lecavalier wouldn't be able to wear the number 4 in a Habs jersey considering it's a retired number.

Is the "04" a weak attempt to get around the fact that Jean Beliveau is wearing future Habs captain Vincent Lecavalier's number?

No.

Dear god, no.

Puck Buddy Mike Geiler explains:

I was watching Sharks at Islanders tonight on GameCenter Live, and this had me so fuming mad that I had to take a picture, even if its of my computer screen.  During the stoppage of play with about 4 minutes left in the 2nd period, the glass needed fixing.  The camera caught all of 2 seconds of what appeared to be maybe the saddest jersey foul I've ever seen or heard of. An Islanders No. 4 jersey with the name Orr. This is a disgrace to the best player to ever lace up skates. Even if the wearer is named Orr, no deal.  What if someone named Lemieux was a fan of the Kings and decided that he just had to have a personalized No. 66?  Uncool. Your thoughts?

We'll get back to you when we're finished questioning our faith in humanity.

Gregg M. decided to have some fun when the Toronto Maple Leafs made their rare appearance in Vancouver last month:

So.... being a good Canucks fan I decided to dress up as a "typical" Leafs fan for the game against the Canucks here in Vancouver on Saturday.

Ran into these guys (right) and thought they were doing the same thing (making fun of the Leafs) but they were ACTUAL LEAF FANS. They're smiling because they haven't yet realized I'm laughing AT them and not WITH them.

Indeed. He also said that some "Maple Leafs-loving losers" insisted on "trying to tell the Canucks fans leaving the building how great Doug Gilmour was" after the game.

No word if Canucks fans hit back by talking about how many Cups they've won since 1967. Or if they just hit back with a bottle.

Speaking of the Leafs, we can't quite figure out if this image from 'RunningLucky' is a Protest Jersey or a sweater mocking the Leafs or some weird combination of a Brian Burke fan and a self-loathing Leafs fan (we know: redundant).

He explains:

Check out this jersey foul I spotted at the Buffalo-Toronto game on Friday night. It felt good being one of the nearly 50 percent Leaf fans at HSBC until seeing this garbage. Hopefully it's not to tough to read, but it says "Burke 67" in duct tape.

So his call is that it mocked Toronto, which it probably did. Still, why wear a Leafs jersey to a Sabres home game in which Buffalo needs as many of its own sweaters in the crowd as it can muster?

Puck Buddy Kyle E's note attached to the following Los Angeles Kings Foul:

"This says cup fever."

For a franchise that's barely had Cup sniffles.

Puck Buddy 'jprock' caught this at a New Jersey Devils home game:

You raised the question "What do you do with a player's jersey once he is no longer with a team?". Here's one persons response that I viewed at a game at The Rock.

Maybe when Scott Gomez was on the Rangers after leaving the Devils, this Protest Jersey has some validity. Now, after the contract was a bust and he's with the Habs? Not so much.

This Blackhawks Foul is a little tough to see, so we turn the mic over to Jessie D.:

"It's a Blackhawks 88 white jersey, the name bar says 'Lord'. Even if his last name is Lord, everyone is going to think he's calling 20 Cents Jesus."

Good to see 'Hawks are still keeping things in perspective.

And finally ...

Puck Buddy Scott M. wonders: "Sharks fan 'jersey' response to everyone's opinion on their early playoff exits?"

Or, perhaps, the first glimpse of the best-selling Russian player jersey in the history of mankind ...

By Reid Simpson

I can't help but watch hits in today's game, see the suspensions handed out for them and just go, "Wow."

I agree there have been some that were just plain "intent to injure hits," with reckless disregard for the others' safety and health. There have always been players who cross that imaginary fine line, and intent is always the hardest thing to figure out -- the one thing that is always eluding officials when it comes to figuring out how to discipline players for going too far.

Let's use some examples from my career. When I went on the ice, my job was to play good defensively, move pucks forward, play as much as I could in their end, score when I got a chance and get good solid hits every time I could. Many players in the League today have the exact same job description. That's what I was told to do by every coach I ever had in the NHL or any other League, and I was rewarded for it if I did it well -- by more playing time and better contracts. I had a longer career the better I did it.

The irony is how can you ask someone go out, do this job, be the best he can at it and then predict the result of that very fine line of whether he just shook a guy up or injured him?

With Mike Richards(notes) of the Philadelphia Flyers, the question is how can he not hit David Booth(notes) the way he did, cleanly with his shoulder? (video)

Does he let him just skate by? How could he predict he was going to knock him out and put him on the shelf for who knows how long?

The kid from the OHL who has been suspended for the year was looking for the hit. I would imagine he was told to play that way if he ever wants to make it, and finished his check hard. Do you think he could predict the result? At the very last millisecond the other kid turned in, the timing was a perfect storm for the resulting injury.

Can we blame the hitter?

Do we blame the game? Or do we just accept the fact that in sports -- and especially pro sports, where life-changing salaries are being fought for daily to get these jobs and keep them -- this is going to happen?

I feel deeply for the family and the player in the OHL. I don't believe it was the intent of the hitter to inflict that kind of injury of that severity. We have all accepted these risks going in. Is it dirty to hit a guy coming through the neutral zone with his head down? Is it dirty when you are finishing your check and at the last millisecond he turns to the boards? The size and speed of the players and the fact that we play in a confined space with walls around us, there are going to be things like happen.

You can't tell a player, "Be stronger, be faster, be more physical" and then punish them when he is. You have had to play the game at that level to understand this.

Now, I haven't even gotten into the fighting part yet. Let me put it this way: I am going to be honest. I played the game under the assumption that I wanted to be as mean, rough, tough as I could be so we won and I could keep my job, but I was fair when it came to injuring another guy.

Not every guy had to play that way to keep his job, but a lot did and still do. I wanted to win every game and every battle I was in, and I wanted to make guys hurt. (In a perfect world only for that night.) The irony, again, is you are asked and paid to live right to the edge every night over and over and never cross it.

How can you have a league that gives you a 5-minute penalty for fighting, but if you knock him out you are made to feel like you went too far? That's what I was trying to do every time, and trust me: The two guys fighting have signed up for it and know the risks and the rewards, so don't ever feel sorry for them because they will never feel sorry for themselves if fair was fair.

This brings me back to intent. Certain things are very black and white: Blatant slashes, crosschecks from behind, sucker punches. But the League has a much tougher time when it comes to the gray areas of all the rest. You can't have contact in the game with the size and speed of these guys these days. Guys are going to get hurt sometimes; just how bad each time is the question.

I just don't believe you can punish players for a resulting injury of their actions, when its part of what they are being asked to do; especially if it's not crystal clear that the intent was there, injury or not.

Reid Simpson is a retired left winger who played in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins. He later went to Russia as a player and, after retirement, an executive with Chekhov Vityaz of the KHL. He currently lives in Chicago.

Remember: Jersey Fouls Wednesday. Rumors Chat Thursday. Rinse, repeat.

• Tantalizing Tweets from Bob McKenzie of TSN: The Panthers claim Steve MacIntyre(notes) from Edmonton on waivers; Drew Miller(notes) of the Tampa Bay Lightning is on waivers; Adam Mair(notes) inexplicably clears waivers; and Michael Nylander(notes) of the Washington Capitals appears closer than ever to bolting for Russia and helping to end the misery for both he and the Caps. [@TSNBobMcKenzie; update via Corey Masisak from the Washington Times: Caps don't expect anything certain today.]

• No slap shots, no wrist shots, but Alex Ovechkin(notes) reports he's practicing without pain. Unless, of course, he's joking. One can never be too sure, going forward. [Capitals Insider]

• Also on the injured Russian superstar front: Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) is practicing with the Atlanta Thrashers. [AJC, via Puck Buddy Stefan]

• The Minnesota Wild have their share of problems, and surprisingly one of them is named Martin Havlat(notes). From Hockey Wilderness: "Factored over an 80 game schedule (since that's the maximum number of games Havlat can play this year) Havlat is set to score almost six goals this year (5.71 and change). Points-wise, he's due to score 40 points. How does 5 goals and 35 assists sit with you when you're paying $5 million dollars for it?" Be sure to check a certain Twitter account for potential rebuttal. [Hockey Wilderness]

• It's official: Soon-to-be-former MLBPA executive Donald Fehr will advise the NHLPA on selecting new leadership. Thank goodness he never presided over a devastating strike in baseball. Wait, what? [THN]

• Nobody puts Giggy in a corner. Of the bench. [LA Daily News]

• Fun project from Daily Faceoff: Assembling teams of current players from each region of Canada, and deciding which all-star team is the best. Sidney Crosby(notes) would probably request a trade from the Maritimes if he saw this roster. [Daily Faceoff]

• Speaking of the Pittsburgh Penguins captain, our friends at The Pensblog have decided the best way to battle those who mock Crosby as being immature and unsportsmanlike is with a Photoshop expo of images featuring Sidney urinating on various people, places and things. (We naturally encourage the Puck Daddy artistic community to take part in this endeavor. It's already a fun one, based on the banner.) [Pensblog]

• William Houston on how Nick Kypreos landed one of the biggest interview "gets" in recent hockey journalism history: Mike Danton. [Truth & Rumours]

• Ville Koistinen(notes), Scott Clemmensen(notes) ... Florida Panthers Coach Pete DeBoer has the ill communication. [Litter Box Cats]

• Nice piece on Jacques Lemaire's quiet success with the New Jersey Devils this season ... but "abundance of talent?" Have they looked at the defense and the lines below No. 2 on this team? [Pioneer Press]

• The winds of change are starting to blow for the St. Louis Blues, as Andy Murray enters what one columnist feels could be a job-saving stretch. [Dispatch]

• The Rick Tocchet/Vincent Lecavalier(notes) philosophical showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning: "I think that Tocchet is trying to force a round peg thru a square hole. That is, he's trying to force Lecavalier to become the player Tocchet wants him to be in order to fit into Tocchet's idealized style of hockey." [Raw Charge]

• Eric Duhatschek catches up with Wayne Gretzky at the Hall of Fame and The Great One is his usual gracious, respectful, non-controversial self; although he does say hockey isn't a part of his life right now, which is sad. [Globe & Mail]

• On Veterans Day, the Chicago Blackhawks join the ranks of NHL teams wearing special camouflage jerseys during warm-ups in order to later auction them off. Exempt from wearing camouflage: Tomas Kopecky(notes), who's already been invisible all season. [Blackhawks, via UniWatch]

• Roberto Luongo(notes) could be back tonight against the St. Louis Blues; Daniel Sedin(notes) is likely a game away from his return after a broken foot. Everything is progressing exactly as we have foreseen it. Our Stanley Cup prediction is mere months from coming to pass. MWAHAHAHAH! [Sun Media]

• Mirtle takes a gander at the number of European goalies that are playing prominent roles on their teams this season, and whether The Monster's journey to the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs will become the norm. [From The Rink]

• More about The Monster. [Sports and the City]

• "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" is coming to the Carolina Hurricanes game on Nov. 13. No word if General Grievous might be available in goal. [Hurricanes]

• Penner envy ... tee-hee. [CBC Sports]

• The Hartford Wolf Pack have suspended forward Tyler Arnason(notes) and put him on waivers after he signed a contract with Dinamo Riga overseas. Impossible as it may sound, flags in Denver as actually flying above full staff in remembrance. [Wolf Pack]

• Things the Kurtenbloggers thought they knew about Olympic hockey. [KB]

• Finally, the top 10 moments from last night's Hall of Fame inductees, via TSN and DayWalk3r:

Leahy and I thought about adding a "Best Hall of Fame Class of the last decade" list to our end-of-2000s project, but opted to leave it out.

Few would argue that the Class of 2002 was the weakest: Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies, Rod Langway and the late Roger Neilson. The only point of debate would be the strongest of the decade, which comes down to two classes. (All due respect to the Ray Bourque/Paul Coffey/Larry Murphy/Cliff Fletcher class of 2004.)

2007: Mark Messier, Al MacInnis, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis, Jim Gregory.

2009: Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brian Leetch, Lou Lamoriello

You've have to give the nod to this year's class as the best of the decade, no?

Coming up, some thoughts on a remarkable class of hockey legends, entering immortality this evening in Toronto. (With Wayne Gretzky in the hizzle!)

Brett Hull

It was that shot.

The one that produced 741 career goals. The puck would leave the stick in a blur and find its target with incredible accuracy no matter where Hull uncorked it. He was a Howitzer on the ice; the kind of guy who would fire a wrister from 10 feet out on a breakaway because it was going to be more lethal than some silly deke.

I'll remember him most as a St. Louis Blues sniper because of that wonderful time when a hockey fan could answer an NBA fan's "Stockton to Malone" with "Oates to Hull" without a second thought. It's still one of the greatest center/winger combos I've ever seen.

Hull won two Stanley Cups; with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and with the Dallas Stars in 1999. (Sure, his foot was in the crease against the Buffalo Sabres, but have you heard there was a super-secret memo that made it OK?) That's on the ice; off the ice, he was an outspoken quote machine, an ambassador for the game and a player whose outsized personality is still sorely missed among the elite stars in the NHL.

Examples aplenty from the Blues in this number retirement video:

Steve Yzerman

It was that jersey:

For whatever reason, the Steve Yzerman Detroit Red Wings sweater was as iconic as any during his playing days. Like Mario's or Gretzky's, it was something more than a team jersey; it implied a vibe of cool, a feeling of dignified stature that transcended the usual gear.

Yzerman has Hall of Fame stats, a Hall of Fame résumé and a Hall of Fame trophy case. But there's something greater than his point totals going on here, and The Chief at the aptly named Abel To Yzerman attempted to capture it today:

There are players who've been voted in who probably felt it was owed to them.  There are "captains" who stayed too long, wore out their welcome in at least three different cities, loved the attention, begged for it, thrived on it, then missed it so much created ways to keep their name out there....like inventing a "leadership award" and finding a hygiene product to sponsor it.  There are others who's spectacular play earned their admission to the Hall, but their lack of character made you cringe to consider their place among the greats like Howe and Beliveau.

Steve Yzerman? He's never felt like hockey owed him jack squat.  And his character is spotless.  He is the icon of our age.  A hero in a time when defining one is nearly impossible.

Ted Lindsay called Stevie Y "everything a great athlete should be." End of conversation.

Luc Robitaille

It was the perseverance.

Of the inductees, Robitaille's prime is the one I'm least familiar with as an East Coast, Wales Conference hockey fan. But over the years, you learn that "Lucky" doesn't just apply to the teams honored to have one of the best left wingers in NHL history on their rosters; it defines the career of a also-ran draft choice who became a Hall of Famer.

Think about it: He was taken 171st overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1984. (Ahead of Gary Suter, no less; nice scouting back then.) The next five players taken at No. 171 in the ensuing NHL Entry Drafts: Jamie Huscroft, Scott McCormack, Craig Daly, Dan Wiebe, Jeff St. Laurent.

Then again, some schlub named Pavel Datsyuk(notes) was taken there in 1998. But Dats didn't have the bum rap that Luc had coming up, according to the LA Times:

A Canadian reporter who had written about him years ago recalled hearing of scouting reports that seriously doubted whether Robitaille would succeed in the NHL despite his high-scoring exploits with the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

"Apparently there was someone that wrote that on the report. ‘This kid will never make it because he's slower than a Zamboni," Robitaille said, laughing.

Like Luc said at the HOF: "It was a really fast one. It was a turbo Zamboni."

Here's a schmaltzy remembrance of Luc Robitaille, he of the 668 goals and 1,394 points in the NHL:

Brian Leetch

It was the consistency.

What Leetch represented while playing with the New York Rangers was a constant amidst a franchise that went from a 54-year curse to an era-defining Cup win to a high-priced Titanic that sunk out of the playoffs for several seasons. He was a Conn Smythe winner in 1994 with Mark Messier and the team's leading scorer in 2001 with Mark Messier Part Deux.

He also spanned eras as a defenseman, as he recalled with the National Post:

"I remember coaches saying, 'If Leetchy is up on the play, you have to back him up,' " he said. "And then it went to, 'Leetchy, don't get up in the play,' because we had to do the trap or something. I found sitting back difficult. My strength is not standing still and reading the play. It went back and forth."

What I wrote when Leetch was announced for the Hall still stands:

With apologies to Joe Mullen, Chris Chelios(notes) and Pat LaFontaine, Leetch is the greatest American-born player in NHL history; and the first U.S. player to ever win the Conn Smythe when the Rangers won the Cup in 1994. Known for his offense (247 goals, 781 assists, 1,028 points) but he won two Norris Trophies as a total-package defenseman. I hated him as a Devils fan. That's the best compliment I can give.

Of course, it turns out he might have been a Devil at the end of his career, but that's neither here nor there. Speaking of which ...

Lou Lamoriello

It's the debt of gratitude.

There wouldn't be a lot of things had it not been for Lou Lamoriello. The Prudential Center. The New Jersey Devils' name on the Stanley Cup three times. Or, for that matter, the New Jersey Devils here in 2009.

But as Tom Gulitti wrote, his contributions go beyond turning a Mickey Mouse franchise into a perennial winner:

How important to you were your contributions to USA Hockey?

"I'm proud of our country. I went through the era where U.S. college players were not looked upon (to play in the NHL) and rightly so. It wasn't until 1980 when we won the Olympics that they really were given the opportunity to have success and recognition and really Herbie and that 80 Olympic team opened the door for college players because I was coaching at that time. So, I saw that opportunity come. I saw it coming, but that gave it a chance.

"I was fortunate to be part of that era and be a part of sports festivals for USA Hockey. I can still think of the players that were with me. Ed Olczyk, I had at 16 in the sports festival. The Tommy Barrassos that were coming to Providence (as recruits) and Bobby Carpenter, even Brian Lawton, who ended up going pro. Then, working with them on USA team. Even Monday is special with you've got Brian Leetch and Brett Hull from the '96 World Cup Team. The World Cup team was one of the bigger days for USA Hockey."

Like most Devils fans, I've had a love/hate relationship with Lamoriello. Loved the success, hated the non-marketing. Loved the genius moves like Kurvers-for-what-would-be-Niedermayer and the Scott Stevens arbitration win; hated some of the baffling post-lockout transactions. Loved the painstaking detail and care Lamoriello took in micro-managing this team; hated when that micro-managing would manifest itself in an itchy coaching trigger finger.

But that's Lamoriello. You swallow your doubts, push aside your trepidation and then stare at the standings as you try and figure out how, once again, the New Jersey Devils look like a playoff team. As the name of the blog says: In Lou We Trust.

Which is probably accurate, come to think of it.

But I also have fundamental, dogmatic objections to any rule that restricts the movement of a player on the ice, which is what the trapezoid does. Hockey is a game of constant movement and unparalleled teamwork; shackling a goalie to his posts doesn't mesh with that.

The trapezoid was created during the sweeping post-lockout rules changes to create more offense and speed up the game. It's achieved the former objective: There's no question attacking teams have more opportunity to win the puck, forecheck and break down defensive systems with the goalie restricted.

As for speed, we'll defer to Between The Pipes' superlative essay on the trapezoid, which wonders how a game can be considered faster when it features a goalie gazing "longingly at the puck on the other side of the line with the look that a dog has after seeing [a] peanut butter sandwich hit the shag."

Of course, as with any rules change, it's the unanticipated consequences that determine success or failure. The trapezoid was intended to increase goal-scoring; instead, it's increased man-games lost and hospital bills, thanks to suicide runs to the boards by attacking players on helpless defenders.

The NHLPA's competition committee seriously examined the future of the trapezoid last fall, and the NHL's general managers are expected to debate it this week at their meetings in Toronto. We have a four-season sample of life with the trapezoid; should it stay or should it go?

The previews for the GM meetings focus on hits to the head, which will likely produce the usual non-progress following by dire proclamations to the media about an epidemic by some concerned executives.

The trapezoid issue, however, is somewhat tied to concerns over the increase in injuries. From ESPN's Pierre LeBrun:

It was believed at the time that limiting the goalies' ability to play the puck in the corners would help the opposing team's forecheck; but there's a feeling among some GMs that goalies should be allowed to roam freely again, which may help some defensemen avoid injuries from having to play the puck. We'll see whether or not there's enough widespread support to make a change for next season. I don't get a sense either way right now.

Damien Cox of the Toronto Star goes into more detail:

Defencemen, however, have clearly become more at risk from the big hit, particularly with obstruction on forecheckers removed.

Now, few would seriously argue in favour of returning obstruction to the game. It would be impossible to regulate and you'd end up just going backwards

But removing the trapezoid and letting the goalies play the puck the way they could before the lockout would clearly help the situation to some degree. Problem is, while it would really help, say, Dallas with smooth Marty Turco(notes), it might not help other clubs nearly as much. For example, if the Leafs could tether rookie Jonas Gustavsson(notes) to the crossbar, they probably would.

Well, that's just a stupid reason not to repeal the rule. Yes, Damien, won't anyone think about the goalies that lack the fundamental skills to excel at their position without the NHL rulebook covering for them? The world needs more Roman Cechmaneks.

Make no mistake: Allowing goalies to play the puck behind the net is opening the door for defensive systems to take hold again, depending on whether a given goalie is competent within that skill. We'll go from attacking teams being able to spring the puck free from a defensive player to dancing around the most coddled, protected player in the game to avoid an interference penalty.

But we've seen the alternative, which is defensive players crumpling to the ice as their bodies are crunched awkwardly against the end boards.

I still doubt the GMs will overturn a rule that's so beneficial to the offensive philosophy the NHL has followed since the lockout. But as an incremental solution to the "hits to the head" issue, I can see there being enough support to eliminate the trapezoid from NHL ice rinks. Which means, of course, new real estate for advertisements. Yippee!

 

No. 1 Star: Jonas Gustavsson(notes), Toronto Maple Leafs

Congratulations to the Leafs, who are now clearly the 29th-best team in the NHL after defeating fellow cellar-dweller the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, with a three-goal rally (video). Gustavsson was outstanding on several of his 34 saves, including 18 he made in the third period against a still-determined Canes team.

No. 2 star: Chris Stewart(notes), Colorado Avalanche

Another marathon shootout for the Avs and the Chicago Blackhawks, who went nine rounds earlier this season. This time, it was an eight-rounder; this time, Colorado skated away with the extra point, as Stewart's blast (video) beat Antti Niemi(notes) (19 saves) and Dustin Byfuglien's(notes) shot buzzed wide of Craig Anderson(notes) (29 saves) to give Colorado the 4-3 win and a 6-0 home record.

No. 3 star: Cory Schneider(notes), Vancouver Canucks

Had the Canucks defeated the Dallas Stars, Schneider would have been the hands-down No. 1 star; alas, the Stars won, 2-1, wasting a 45-save effort from the young netminder in his trading block audition sixth NHL start.

Honorable mention: Yann Danis(notes) made 23 saves against his old team, and Brian Rolston(notes) had the game-winner in the New Jersey Devils' 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders. ... The shorthanded Washington Capitals got a three-point night out of Brian Pothier(notes), two goals from Brendan Morrison(notes) and 28 saves from Jose Theodore(notes) for a 4-1 win at the Florida Panthers. ... Big night for the Philadelphia Flyers grunts, as Daniel Carcillo(notes) scored his first two goals of the season and Ian Laperriere(notes) had two helpers in their big 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. James van Riemsdyk's(notes) third of the season ended up being the game-winner. ... Brad Richards(notes) (6) and Brenden Morrow(notes) (7) provided the offense for the Stars' win over Vancouver. ... Patrik Elias(notes) played 16:01 and was a minus-1 with two shots in his first game back from injury for the Devils. ... Another great night for Colorado rookie Ryan O'Reilly(notes), as he collected some garbage in front of Antti Niemi for his first goal and then potted his own rebound on a breakaway for his second. He also led the Avs with six shots.

Did you know?: Bryan McCabe(notes) played in his 1,000th career NHL regular-season game, becoming the seventh Panthers player to reach that mark.

Dishonorable mention: The Hurricanes haven't scored on their last 25 power plays, which is one of the reasons they're now the worst team in the NHL. ... Cory Stillman(notes) and Steven Reinprecht(notes) were both a minus-3 for the Panthers; Chris Butler(notes) and Tyler Myers(notes) where minus-3 for the Sabres, although Myers scored a power-play goal. ... Mike Green(notes) and Jeff Schultz(notes) went down with injuries for the Capitals. ... Finally, in honor of Movember, David Clarkson(notes) gave Tim Jackman(notes) a mustache just 30 seconds into the Islanders/Devils game.

• Really interesting analysis being done by the MSM and the blogs on the Colorado Avalanche's attendance woes, as the first-place team had a record-low crowd earlier this week. Adrian Dater asked for, and received, a ton of feedback from fans about why they do or do not attend games. [All Things Avs]

• Jibblescribbits, meanwhile, has two posts on the issue that put the blame squarely on the Avalanche's poor marketing, both of their players and of their ticket affordability: "The casual Denver sports fan right now has no clue how good the Avs are, and they have no idea that there are some great ticket specials." [Jibblescribbits]

• Twenty-one-year-old Robert Hughes, a center for the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers, was arrested on charges of a first-degree criminal sexual act and a third-degree criminal sexual act after a game in Bridgeport. [AP]

• Patrick Kane(notes), Patrick Sharp(notes) and Dustin Byfuglien(notes) are called out as the Chicago Blackhawks struggle offensively. Toews and Hossa will probably help. You know, a little. [Between the Circles]

• The Vancouver Canucks are seriously looking at Peter Forsberg(notes). Because after October, consistent injuries are sort of the norm over there. [Globe & Mail]

• Bringing Jaromir Jagr(notes) to the Edmonton Oilers remains something on associate coach Tom Renney's mind, but is that a good thing? [Illegal Curve]

• Josh Sacco, a.k.a. Lil' Herb Brooks, will do the "Let's Play Hockey" intro at the Minnesota Wild's game against the New York Islanders on Nov. 20. Better yet: He's going to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. That. Is. Awesome. [Tennessean]

• Craig Anderson(notes) is doing his best to ignore chatter about being a goalie for Team USA in 2010. Leahy silently weeps at the idea that his Puck Daddy post from Thursday sadly went unread in the Colorado locker room. [NHL]

• The New York Islanders release details of their game-worn jersey sell-through program, as "prices for the jerseys will be set on market value for each individual player." Which is a polite way of saying that Jon Sim's(notes) sweater might be a shade more affordable than John Tavares's.(notes) [Islanders]

• Is Rich Peverley(notes) the new Mike Richards(notes)? And if Mike Richards was the new Bobby Clarke for the Philadelphia Flyers, does that make Rich Peverley the new Bobby Clarke or the old Mike Richards? A post that threatens the space-time continuum. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

• Sidney Crosby(notes) has gone from pedestrian in the shootout to 4-for-4 this season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. [NHL]

• Pensburgh does some detective work into whether Crosby is playing through an injury while Evgeni Malkin(notes) is on the shelf. [Pensburgh]

• Zach Bogosian(notes) of the Atlanta Thrashers is one of a few dozen hockey players participating in Movember, the world-wide initiative in which men grow their 'staches to create awareness for men's health issues like prostate cancer. We'll have more on this later, but seriously: Isn't there something a wee bit Gillooly-ish about Bogo's facial hair? [From The Rink]

• Even if you despise these teams, the following sentence wouldn't have been believed back in late September: "The two worst teams in the NHL will square off on Friday night in Carolina when the Hurricanes host the Toronto Maple Leafs." [CBC Sports]

• Nailed it: "Paul Maurice is the Willy Loman of the NHL. Great with words, not so great at delivering results." [Bitter Leaf Fan]

• Thanks to the flu and injuries, the Edmonton Oilers are a team in big, big trouble writes Terry Jones. [Edmonton Sun]

• Nothing like a cramped airplane to really get those flu germs circulating, as they did for the Philadelphia Flyers. Yuck. [Philly.com]

• Tough talk for Minnesota Wild management, currently and formerly, about the team's pathetic start to the 2009-10 season. [Star Tribune]

• Making the case for Doug Gilmour to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. [Simmons]

• Alex Ovechkin(notes) will miss both games against the Florida Panthers for the Capitals this weekend. He felt "the same" after Caps practice today. [WaPo]

• Patrik Elias(notes) will be in the lineup for the New Jersey Devils tonight, in a story completely overshadowed by the much anticipated showdown former Islanders backup goalie Yann Danis(notes) and his former team. [Fire & Ice]

• Follow-up on the blown call that may have cost the Dallas Stars a victory earlier this week. [Dallas Stars Blog]

• Finally, good little scrap between the San Antonio Rampage's Ryan Donally(notes) and the Peoria Rivermen's Anthony Peluso(notes), who rallied for the tie. [HockeyFights.com]

No. 1 Star: Jarome Iginla(notes), Calgary Flames

The Flames got some breaks against the Dallas Stars, and Iginla made the most of them. His first goal of the game came on a 3-on-1. His second goal, the OT game-winner, came after a borderline delay-of-game penalty on Loui Eriksson(notes), in which he cleared the puck over the glass while outside of the defensive zone. Iginla's blast on the power play beat Marty Turco(notes) (20 saves) for the overtime win, 3-2. He also had the primary assist on Daymond Langkow's(notes) game-tying goal at 19:11 of the third.

No. 2 star: Tomas Vokoun(notes), Florida Panthers

Vokoun weathered a 21-shot salute in the first period by a desperate Carolina Hurricanes team on the road, and ended up making 32 saves in shutting out the Canes, 3-0. Steven Reinprecht's(notes) ninth of the season was the game-winner.

No. 3 star: Ryan Miller(notes), Buffalo Sabres

Four days ago, the New York Islanders shut out the Sabres. Ryan Miller returned the favor with a confident 24-save performance, as Buffalo snapped the Islanders' 4-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory. Derek Roy's(notes) first goal of the season was the game-winner; Thomas Vanek(notes) and Paul Gaustad(notes) had the other tallies.

Honorable mention: Special stick tap for Curtis McElhinney(notes), as the little-used Flames backup was outstanding in goal (38 saves) in Calgary's win -- including stopping a Brenden Morrow(notes) penalty shot. ... Nicklas Bergfors(notes) scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period, at the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals, 3-2. ... Milan Hejduk(notes) had a three-point night, including goals to open and close the scoring, in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Peter Budaj(notes) made 28 saves in his first start of the season. Colorado is undefeated (5-0) at home. ...Don't look now, but the San Jose Sharks have won eight of nine after Dan Boyle's(notes) shootout goal gave them a 3-2 SO win at the Columbus Blue Jackets. Joe Thornton(notes) and Dany Heatley(notes) had goals in regulation. Rick Nash(notes) scored his 10th for Columbus. ... Marty Biron stopped 36 of 39 shots in a losing effort for the Isles, and earned a roughing minor for going after Patrick Kaleta(notes). ... Steve Mason(notes) stopped 36 of 38 for the Jackets.

Did you know?: Carolina has seven points through 14 games, matching the worst start in franchise history, set in 1992-93 and 1993-94. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Missing their star player, the Capitals' taking four penalties in the third period on the road had Coach Bruce Boudreau rightfully steamed after the game. ... Carolina was 0-for-5 on the power play. ... Rob Blake(notes) was injured in the second for the Sharks and didn't return. ... Finally, a record low crowd of 11,012 in Denver watched the Avs pull into a tie with Pittsburgh for the NHL point lead (24).

Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Colorado Avalanche, 9 p.m. EST. In September, claiming that this matchup would be the game of the night on Nov. 4 may have been grounds for institutionalization. Yet here we are, with the Yotes fifth in the West at 18 points and the Avalanche still first in the conference with 22. Colorado is 4-0-0 at home. Peter Budaj(notes) gets the start after the battle with swine flu. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. EST. The Capitals play their first game since Alex Ovechkin's(notes) "week-to-week" injury, facing a Devils team that would probably much rather be playing in Washington tonight because they're undefeated on the road and because everyone in North Jersey will be watching the Yankees anyway. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars, 8:30 p.m. EST. Dallas has activated center Mike Modano(notes) and right wing Jere Lehtinen(notes) from injured reserve. Meanwhile, an Alberta Health Services staff member has been canned for giving the Flames preferential treatment for H1N1 vaccinations. "The decision to allow preferential access to the Flames and their families was a serious error in judgment on the part of the staff involved," said Stephen Duckett, president and CEO of the AHS board. No kidding?

Check out the Y! Sports scores and schedule page for previews of the other three games tonight.

Evening Reading

• The twisted mind of Rudy Kelly presents scenes from the Los Angles Kings' father/son dinner. Had no idea Raitis Ivanans's(notes) father is actually a bear, but it makes sense.[Battle of California]

• "Internet reports" have the Chicago Blackhawks interested in Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle(notes). The gist of the story is on-point: Marian Hossa(notes) is inching back, and the cap issues are on the front burner. [Kuc, via Second City Hockey]

• Good news for the Hawks: Jonathan "Lloyd Christmas" Toews is practicing again. [ESPN Chicago]

• Round 545,192 in the "Is Chris Osgood(notes) overrated or underrated?" debate. [Snapshots]

• How much are the Olympics playing on the mind of Vincent Lecavalier(notes) during his horrendous start? [LeBrun]

• Eric Duhatschek takes a look inside the Dany Heatley(notes) bonus grievance filed by the Ottawa Senators, and how the timing of it is interesting with regard to the NHLPA. [Globe & Mail]

• New York Rangers forward Dane Byers(notes) was handed a one-game suspension by the NHL on Wednesday while Coach John Tortorella was fined $10,000 for that weird non-brawl against the Vancouver Canucks last night. [CP]

• Meanwhile, Vancouver's Shane O'Brien(notes) will have a disciplinary hearing for using his stick to make contact with Ranger Sean Avery(notes). [TSN]

• Shawn Horcoff(notes) is out about a week. [Sportsnet]

• The Boston Bruins have been shut out two games in a row. "According to Bob Waterman at the Elias Sports Bureau, the Bruins only once have been blanked in three straight games, which happened in 1929 (the same year the Bruins won their first Cup)." Wait, so should Bruins fans be rooting for or against a shutout against the Habs on Thursday? [Bruins Blog]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: From Mr. Corey Atkinson on Twitter, regarding Team Canada's goalie for the Olympics:

"Honestly, I would think even Joey MacDonald(notes) could beat Cam Ward(notes) right now."

Bold Prediction: You want bold? We'll give you bold: Brodeur ties the shutout record tonight.

• Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL is going after former Colorado Avalanche star Peter Forsberg(notes), and Jeff Klein of the New York Times indicates that Foppa may be charmed by the riches the Russian league can offer him beyond those in a capped NHL. In either case, we just hope to see Forsberg in one more Olympic run for the Swedes, before they lose to the U.S. [Slap Shot and Denver Post]

• Forbes warns the NHLPA not to allow a group of agents to set the agenda for the membership: "By pushing their individual agendas the agents are undermining the majority of players. The players better fix this quickly or the next CBA will be a debacle." [Forbes]

• The Calgary Flames claim did nothing wrong in securing H1N1 vaccinations, which are in short supply in Alberta. Team president Ken King has said the hockey players are "at an elevated infection risk due to their physical contact." We're sure immune deficient children, pregnant women and the elderly are cool with that. [Sun Media]

• Tapeleg on the Flames' line-jumping for the shots: "The Calgary Flames deserved to be at the front of the Swine Flu inoculation line. If the Flames are sick, the entire economy of Calgary would crumble. After the CFL, what do they have? Is there any other excuse for the Red Mile? Bars would close left and right. People would have to read... books. Shudder." [Jerseys And Hockey Love]

• Carolina Hurricanes star Eric Staal(notes): He was Iron Man. [Canes Country]

• Down Goes Brown, who will be joining us for our Rumors Chat at 1 p.m., on Phil Kessel's(notes) debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs: "The Leafs' game plan for Kessel is apparently to play every second shift, generally ignore his linemates, and shoot at every opportunity from every angle. And here's the thing: I don't think that's a bad plan." [DGB]

• Pierre LeBrun was also impressed with Kessel, who brings an offensive dimension to "a Leafs lineup essentially devoid of top-six, high-end offensive talent." But he also calls Kessel a "star" on multiple occasions. Is Phil Kessel really a star in the NHL? [ESPN]

• Former Detroit Red Wings brawler Darren McCarty(notes) said he's one of those people who can walk away from the game and be content with it, but hasn't officially retired yet. [Snapshots]

• Coach Scott Gordon of the surprising New York Islanders responds to criticism of his team's physical play with the old 'size doesn't matter' spiel: "I think there isn't enough credit given to our players. It's not a question of being bigger. I think we have guys who are more willing to finish hits." [NY Post]

• Chatting with Pittsburgh Penguins power forward prospect Eric Tangradi(notes). [Pens Universe]

• Great look at the Chicago Blackhawks' "cap crisis," in an effort to separate fact from fiction. [Kukla]

• Puck Buddy Dave D. from Vancouver sends over this cruel, unusual and ultimately hilarious Leafs fan gift from River City Sports. "The fact that the players appear somewhat contemporary is a fail. I'd be more forgiving if the players looked as though they were from the fifties or sixties. One thing I do find funny is that it is severely discounted, meaning no one is buying it. Just like in real life."

• Buffalo Sabres have called up goaltender Jhonas Enroth(notes) from Portland after backup keeper Patrick Lalime(notes) hurt his groin. [Sabres]

• Sleepers and studs for the U.S. Olympic hockey team. Has James van Riemsdyk(notes) of the Philadelphia Flyers played himself into the conversation? [The Hockey Writers]

• The dates are set for the unveiling of Olympic hockey rosters. [LA Times]

• Also from THW, a chat with Columbus Blue Jackets pest Derek Dorsett(notes): "Whether it was mini-mites or novice or whatever it was, I was always gritty. It comes from my background; where I grew up, how I grew up and the family I came from." [THW]

• Kevin Allen of USA Today: "Although nothing imminent, I'm aware of a NHL team mulling whether to sign Chris Chelios(notes). He's +7, 4-1-5 in 5 AHL games, playing big minutes." [Kausatoday]

• Calgary puts Jarome Iginla(notes) and Olli Jokinen(notes) back together after that chemistry experiment already failed. In their defense, we keep pouring vinegar into our baking soda volcano to no avail, too. [Sun Media]

• If the Phoenix Coyotes are going to see their woeful attendance turn around, they'll need a committed owner and continued success on the ice. Of course, live pole dancers would probably help, too. But we imagine the NHL's not going for that. [Arizona Republic]

• No Patrik Elias(notes) against the Washington Capitals for the New Jersey Devils. [NHL]

• Finally, Sidney Crosby(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins discusses the best save of last night made by a non-goalie:

• Phil Kessel(notes) prepares to make his debut tonight for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Glad to see Tomas Kaberle(notes) is keeping expectations in check by saying Kessel's proven he can be a 50-goal scorer in the NHL. [Globe & Mail]

• In praise of Kessel's ability to handle the pressures of being a "savior" and the intensity of the Toronto media spotlight before Phil Kessel actually feels the pressures of being a "savior" and the intensity of the Toronto media spotlight. [Toronto Sun]

• Admittedly, we haven't spent much time thinking about Jacob Jake Voracek of the Columbus Blue Jackets. That might have to change now that we know he's grown his hair to vintage Jagr proportions and bugs the hell out of his teammates by singing "Bette Davis Eyes." [Disptach, via Puck Update]

• Damien Cox still believes Phoenix Coyotes fans were buying tickets to watch Wayne Gretzky make angry faces. [The Spin]

• From Dead Man Walking to Future Colour Guy, the Kurtenblog's hilarious guide to backup goalies. [KB]

• Alex Ovechkin(notes) speaks to a massive media gathering in DC after the Washington Capitals announced he was "week to week" with an upper body injury. On traveling with the team: "Get some nachos, coke and enjoy the game." Here's video of AO's presser. [Capitals Insider] 

• Ted Leonsis on life without Alex Ovechkin for the Washington Capitals: "The players will all rally around the coach and the jerseys that they wear. This is a team. They play for each other and for our passionate fans. The players will want to thank Alex for his MVP talents and we hope to NOT miss a beat. We will test our mettle now." [Ted's Take]

• Pavel Bure either has the worst or sexiest hockey card ever. One of the two. Or both. [Rock The Red]

• Patrik Elias(notes) will most likely return for the New Jersey Devils over the weekend, as he's back in practice and completely out of shape. [NY Post]

• "Vancouver has already lost 75 man games to injuries, a number that is on pace to dwarf last year's total of about 209 games." [Sun Media]

• Lowetide on the Edmonton Oilers turning into the wrecked car from "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." [Lowetide]

• We highly recommend George James Malik's blogging on the NHLPA mess, including whether or not Paul Kelly should return to the players association. [Snapshots]

• Interesting conversation with former New York Rangers Coach Tom Renney upon his return to NYC. [NY Daily News]

• Leafs Coach Ron Wilson doesn't blame Colin Campbell for following the rules on dangerous hits by guys like Andrew Ladd(notes) and Mike Richards(notes). He blames the rules. [Toronto Sun]

• Are the Toronto Raptors dissing the Leafs? From Puck Buddy Heather F.: "The Maple Leafs marketing team has taken to spray painting Leafs Logos with the words ‘Spirit is Everything' all over the city. It looks like someone has decided to vent their frustrations with the so far pretty dismal season with spray paint of their own. I'm pretty sure this isn't a marketing ploy by the Raptors, as they're owned by the same company and I've only seen this on one street corner so far."

• Lepore has a Puck The Media mailbag that includes interesting chatter about hockey ratings. [Puck The Media]

• William Houston on why CBC's "Battle of the Blades" is an overwhelming success. If they can keep only this thing going long enough to get Brashear involved .... [Truth & Rumours]

• Nashville Predators minor leaguer Ben Eaves(notes) suddenly retires. [Short Shifts, via On The Forecheck]

• How insane was fantasy hockey in the first month of the season? "Unheralded Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov(notes) posted more shutouts (3) than Vincent Lecavalier(notes), Jason Spezza(notes), Jonathan Cheechoo(notes), Chris Higgins, Zdeno Chara(notes), Daniel Sedin(notes), Milan Lucic(notes), Nik Antropov(notes), Derek Roy(notes), and Ryan Getzlaf(notes) had goals ... combined." [NHL.com]

• The Philadelphia Flyers could be without Simon Gagne(notes) for two months. So, situation: normal then ... [Philly.com]

• No Brian Rafalski(notes) nor Jonathan Ericsson(notes) for the Detroit Red Wings against the Boston Bruins tonight. Flu-like symptons. Uh-oh. [Bruins Blog]

• Finally, via DayWalk3r, here are the top plays of last week via TSN:

 

(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.)

Puck Daddy's Best & Worst of the Decade lists will run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through the end of 2009. (Yes, that includes holidays; cynical appraisal never sleeps.)

First off, know this: Immortality in the National Hockey League is not measured by the Prince of Wales or Clarence Campbell trophies for conference champions. We'll have a separate entry in our End-of-Decade Rankings for those elite teams that fell short of the ultimate prize.

But to determine the best NHL team of the 2000s, the field must be narrowed to the nine squads that had their names etched on the Stanley Cup during that time.

Yes, "Top 9," thanks to the lockout that killed the 2004-05 season. In fact, hockey is unlike any other sport that will be covered in Yahoo! Sports' "Best of the Decade" projects: The NHL was literally two different leagues before and after the work stoppage, from parity to economics to the very philosophy of how to build a winning team. That's reflected on several of our lists, including this one.

Here are the Top 9 NHL Teams of the Last Decade ...

9. 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes

A Southeast Division champion with 112 points in the first regular season following the lockout, Peter Laviolette's group had four 30-goal scorers including Eric Staal's(notes) 45-goal, 100-point career year.

Outside of their star center, it was a solid but unspectacular team, and was carried through the postseason by rookie goalie Cam Ward's(notes) Conn Smythe performance (.2.14 GAA, .920 save percentage). Had the Buffalo Sabres not been missing four defensemen in Game 7, Carolina may not have advanced. Had Dwayne Roloson(notes) of the miracle Edmonton Oilers not suffered a knee injury in the Finals, Carolina may not have won the Cup.

But they did, they're here, and someone had to be ninth. Kudos to Canes management for figuring out how to win in NHL 2.0 before anyone else did.

8. 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning

In the last season before the lockout, the Bolts were division and conference regular season champions (106 points), with a Hart Trophy winner in Marty St. Louis (38 goals, 94 points). Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) recorded five shutouts in the postseason, Brad Richards(notes) won the Conn and the Lightning rallied from a 3-2 deficit to the Western Conference No. 6-seeded Calgary Flames to win the Cup.

St. Louis, Richards, Vincent Lecavalier(notes), Cory Stillman(notes), Dan Boyle(notes), Dave Andreychuk ... this team had some players. Like the Canes, they struggled to the win the Cup; and as Martin Gelinas can attest, they also got their share of breaks. But the Lightning were a little better in a different era than the Carolina Cup team.

7. 2002-03 New Jersey Devils

This was the Pat Burns-coached Devils squad that went seven games with the Ducks in the Cup final. They were division champs with 108 points, good for second in the conference. This was a stifling defensive team in front of Martin Brodeur(notes), backstopped by the holy trinity of Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer(notes) and Brian Rafalski(notes).

A perfect example of a very good hockey team that probably wouldn't have hoisted the Cup under NHL 2.0 rules changes.

6. 2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins

After Dan Bylsma took the helm, this Penguins team was a force of nature, streaking to 99 points and fourth in the conference. They had 100-point seasons from Evgeni Malkin(notes) and Sidney Crosby(notes), who both continued their dominance in the postseason (36 points for Geno in a Conn Smythe effort, 31 for Sid). Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) also shut up the critics, once and for all.

A well-constructed team by GM Ray Shero that whose sum was greater than its parts. They get knocked down a few pegs here because it's as much about the journey to the Cup as winning the Cup, and the Penguins were middling until Bylsma captured lightning in a bottle. Plus, the five teams ahead of them were a little deeper.

5. 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings

An incredible regular season that saw the Wings win the President's Trophy with 115 points ended with the team's second Stanley Cup of the decade. Henrik Zetterberg's(notes) 27-point playoff run, combined with shutdown defense, was subtly astonishing.

The question we know you're asking: Why is this team ranked ahead of a Penguins team that essentially defeated the same group the following season?

Top to bottom, this is a better team than the Penguins' squad that won the Cup, especially when you compare the blue lines. They were all a year younger, faster and more durable; and had the Chris Osgood(notes) that played in this run (14-4, 1.55 GAA) been the one that faced the Penguins in the rematch, we may have been talking about a third Detroit title in the 2000s.

Plus, no Marian Hossa(notes). Hence, they won the Cup in 2007-08.

4. 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks

Pacific Division champs with 110 points, it's amazing to look at all the bright young offensive talent in the lineup below Teemu Selanne's(notes) ridiculous 48-goal, 46-assist season: Corey Perry(notes), Ryan Getzlaf(notes), Dustin Penner(notes), Chris Kunitz(notes), Andy McDonald(notes), Travis Moen(notes). But the backbone of the team was J.S. Gigeure in goal, and Chris Pronger(notes) and Conn Smythe winner Scott Niedermayer on defense. 

A stout, truculent bunch that Brian Burke can wistfully reminisce about as his Maple Leafs enter their fifth decade without a Cup.

3. 1999-00 New Jersey Devils

This was arguably the best Devils team in franchise history, and yet it took a coaching change with eight games left in an already-successful 103-point regular season to turn it into a champion. Lou Lamoriello flipped Robbie Ftorek for Larry Robinson, and the affable coach led the team through a wild postseason that included rallying from a 3-1 deficit to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Lindros-concussed conference finals and five overtimes in the final two games of their Stanley Cup win over the defending champion Dallas Stars.

What a lineup: They had Patrik Elias(notes), Scott Gomez(notes), Petr Sykora(notes), Jason Arnott(notes), Claude Lemieux(notes), Alex Mogilny, Bobby Holik(notes) and Randy McKay up front; Conn Smythe winner Stevens, Niedermayer, Rafalski, Ken Daneyko, Colin White(notes) and Vladimir Malakhov(notes) in front of Brodeur.

2. 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche

We said "arguably" in the last entry because some consider the 2000-01 Devils even better than the Cup champs, which makes this Avalanche team look all the more impressive in overcoming them in a seven-game final.

Thanks to the media saturation and the unfortunate presence of his retired number in Denver, everyone remembers this as the Ray Bourque Cup team, but that's shortchanging the juggernaut. It had 118 points to win its division and the President's Trophy, in a year that saw Joe Sakic(notes) win the Hart and the Pearson with a 118-point campaign.

The assemblage of talent on this roster, deftly managed by Bob Hartley, was extraordinary: Sakic, Peter Forsberg(notes) (back when he'd give you 73 games), Milan Hejduk(notes), Alex Tanguay(notes), Chris Drury(notes), Adam Deadmarsh, Bourque, Rob Blake(notes) and a slew of quality role players. Tying to all together was 35-year-old Patrick Roy, who had a 2.21 GAA in the regular season and a 1.70 with four shutouts in the playoffs.

A scary good team. Just not as scary as these guys ...

1. 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings

Unless you're one of those fans that blindly hates everything with a Winged Wheel, this one is indisputable. These Red Wings were a 116-point monster in the regular season that finished second in offense and defense; touting four 30-goal scorers in Brendan Shanahan(notes), Sergei Fedorov(notes), Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille, with Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) winning this second Norris Trophy as best defenseman. The grand master, Scotty Bowman, orchestrated it all from the bench.

As we mentioned in the opening, it's almost unfair to compare this traveling all-star team with any from the capped era. They won the Cup with a payroll around $65 million, and the roster read like one a kid with a video game would put together: Along with the five players mentioned earlier, there was Steve Yzerman, considered on the wane until he led the team in playoff scoring; Igor Larionov, Chris Chelios(notes), Tomas Holmstrom(notes) and Pavel Datsyuk(notes). Their foot soldiers were in their prime, too, like Darren McCarty(notes), Kris Draper(notes), Kirk Maltby(notes).

Back-stopping it all was 37-year-old Dominik Hasek(notes), who had a 2.17 GAA in the regular season and a 1.86 in the playoffs. How big-game was the Dominator? He had five shutouts in the regular season and six in the postseason.

The Wings teams in the 1990s that had Yzerman, Fedorov and Shanahan in their primes were a little better, but this 2001-02 Detroit team is clearly the best of the 2000s and one of the best of the last two decades. If you needed validation of that, visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in about 15 years and see how many players from this roster have entered into immortality.

• Our End of Decade series begins on Tuesday. You've been warned.

• After nearly six months of court battles, PR nightmares and angry Canadian fans, the NHL officially purchased the Phoenix Coyotes for discounted rate of $140 million after the court signed off on the deal. Now comes the fun part: Finding an owner willing to keep a team drawing fewer people than "Amelia" in Glendale. [The Arizona Republic]

• Rick Tocchet sends a message to Vinny Lecavalier, dropping him to a line with Drew Miller(notes) and Stephane Veilleux(notes) against the Philadelphia Flyers today, and saying that the star's defensive game and hustle have fallen as his offense has. Can you remember the last time a star of that magnitude was dropped to a what's basically a checking line? [Lightning Strikes, stick tap to The Skating Penguin.]

• As Sean Avery(notes) prepares to return to Calgary for the first time since the "sloppy seconds" affair, Sun Media columnist Eric Francis wants an apology from the New York Rangers winger: "If the classless New York Rangers mouthpiece has a shred of decency in him, he'll publicly apologize to Dion Phaneuf(notes) and girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert for his stunningly offside comments of a year ago." [Sun Media]

• The update on Alex Ovechkin's(notes) injury: He arrived at the Washington Capitals practice facility on an off day, presumably for treatment on his day-to-day "upper body" issue. [Capitals Insider]

• Guess who's back? Back again? Foppa's back. Tell a friend (that the Flyers are scouting him). [TFP]

• Fantastic take by Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News on Michael Liambas' hit on Ben Fanelli that left the Kitchener Rangers defenseman in critical condition with skull and facial fractures. Writes Kennedy: "No matter what any of our thoughts are on head shots, fighting in hockey, hard plastic elbow pads, etc., the only person who can truly do anything to prevent an injury in this case is Liambas." [THN]

• Second City Hockey takes a critical look at the first month of the Chicago Blackhawks. Pearl of wisdom: "Tomas Kopecky doesn't do anything.  I mean at all." [SCH]

• Gunaxin's "20 Hockey Teams w/ Bizarre Names" is recommended. The Thetford Mines Isothermic? For realz? [Gunaxin]

• The Ottawa Sun: "No sign of Jason Spezza(notes) on the ice today at the Bell Sensplex. No timetablee (sic) for his return." [Sun]

• Jay Feaster takes a gander at the state of Team Canada one month into the season, and wonders if dark horses Brad Richards(notes) and Dustin Penner(notes) have a shot. [THN]

• How did Markus Naslund(notes) end up with No. 19? "It was given to me. I had no choice." Oh. [The Puck Report]

• Patrik Elias(notes) is back and practicing with the New Jersey Devils, and could be back this weekend. The Devils with two scoring lines teams have to worry about? What a concept. [In Lou We Trust]

• Erik Johnson(notes) and Alex Pietrangelo(notes), the St. Louis Blues' struggles are not your fault, sirs. [Post Dispatch]

Via Patrick Hoffman, is the schedule to blame for the glut of hockey injuries? [KK]

• Move over Craig "Leering at Ice Girls" Anderson: Jonathan Quick picks a perfect time for a stretch. [H/T Jason H.]

• Jonathan Willis takes on the latest NHLPA "body count." Ron Pink, who finished ahead of us on the Hockey News list of power and influence, is out on the advisory board. No. 99, here we come! [Hockey or Die]

• BD Gallof also has