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

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

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

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

Evening Reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

10. Jaromir Jagr(notes)

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

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

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

9. Joe Thornton(notes)

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

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

8. Joe Sakic(notes)

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

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

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

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

7. Jarome Iginla(notes)

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

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

6. Scott Niedermayer(notes)

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

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

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

5. Chris Pronger(notes)

Pronger ahead of Niedermayer? Absolutely.

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

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

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

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

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

4. Sidney Crosby(notes)

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

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

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

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

3. Alex Ovechkin(notes)

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

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

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

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

2. Martin Brodeur(notes)

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

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

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

But not the Player of the Decade, either.

1. Nicklas Lidstrom(notes)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But back to the topic at hand here ...

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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.

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:

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

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

Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Carolina Hurricanes, 7 p.m. EST: The two Eastern Conference power outages meet for the second time in less than two weeks. Know what would make this game a hell of a lot more interesting? The threat of relegation. 

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

Evening Reading

• Oh the Ducks, they are a-changin': 15 NHL scouts were given credentials for the Anaheim Ducks game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. [LA Times]

• Center Erik Christensen(notes) has been loaned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League for conditioning purposes. [Ducks]

• Lil' Herb Brooks update. [Sportress]

• More about the Detroit Red Wings and "intent to blow" rule: "LaRue -- with an opportunity to see or be told that no save occurred in the first place -- overrules everything by claiming that what he imagined to have happened initially holds greater power than what actually happened." [Triple Deke]

• Mike Chen has a bit of a different take on the rule and the controversy. [Chen]

• Ottawa Senators winger Alexei Kovalev will play against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight before "heading to Russia on Friday because of the death of his wife's mother." [TSN]

• Should the Los Angeles Kings be concerned with Jonathan Quick? [BoC]

• Chris Drury(notes) is slowly coming back for the New York Rangers, while Ales Kotalik(notes) is taking over Enver Lisin's(notes) spot on the Marian Gaborik(notes) line. [Daily News]

• Great piece on Olli Jokinen(notes), the "No. 1 centre" who has "count 'em up: that's 4 goals in the past 38 games." Wow. [Battle of Alberta]

• NOT HOCKEY: Roger Ebert reviews "New Moon." As in, "sitting through this experience is like driving a pickup in low gear though a sullen sea of Brylcreem." [Ebert]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: We're not going to do a specific comment today; just read all of the folks who took the time to mention their own favorite games of the last decade; we're kicking ourselves for not finding a place for the 5-OT game between Albany and Philadelphia in the AHL.

Bold Prediction: We will receive at least three more pieces of hate mail for that Tin Foil Hat Society comment last night before midnight EST.

• Why Team Russia should be considered the favorite heading into the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. On a somewhat related note, the Kurtenbloggers said during our radio interview last night that they would trade Team Canada's goaltending for Team USA's. We're in negotiations with the Obama administration and the Canadian consulate to make that happen (suckers!). [THN]

• Close to 14,000 fans overwhelmed security and police as Sidney Crosby(notes) carried the Olympic torch last night in Halifax. No word if Crosby got so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that he forgot to accept the torch being passed by another competitor, as is his tradition. [Halifax News Net]

• Update on ye olde Marc Savard(notes) contract negotiations: Contrary to "an Internet report," the signing isn't imminent and the total payout may not hit $39 million. That said, Dupont doesn't dispute the seven-year term. [Boston Globe]

• An anonymous NHL executive tells the Ottawa Sun that the less-than-capacity crowd for the Battle of Ontario against the Toronto Maple Leafs has "got to be most disturbing for ownership" of the Ottawa Senators. Still averaging 18,151 fans a game in a building that seats 19,153; in other words, around half the teams in the U.S. wish they had these problems. [Sun Media]

• Speaking of the Leafs, the big news today was that they've been unable "to lease an unspecified number of the facility's 152 luxury suites" at Air Canada Centre this season, leaving some to wonder if fans have grown weary of the pitiful product. Again, to clarify: The inability to sell out 152 luxury suites and having average attendance at 1,102 fans less than 19,000 capacity are what passes for attendance problems in Canada during this economy. [Globe & Mail]

• Elisha Cuthbert will be the grand marshal of the Grey Cup parade in Calgary. Wonder who the first choice was ... [Sportress of Blogitude]

• Another quarter-pole look at the Hart Trophy candidates, another complete whiff on including any goaltenders. Not to hate on a much-hated guy 'round here, but can someone please tell me what Chris Pronger(notes) has done in bringing the Philadelphia Flyers to 25 points in 18 games that Ryan Miller(notes) hasn't done in bringing the Buffalo Sabres to 25 points in 18 games, from an impact and leadership perspective? [NHL]

• Not exactly happy times for the Minnesota Wild, via Michael Russo: "Lectures from Richards, smashing sticks against glass, Brodziak chopped stick in half, Koivu threw stick four rows deep." Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Devils just purchased Jacques Lemaire new slipper socks and sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!" [@russostrib]

• Looking that the NHL teams gaining or losing steam since the opening 10 of the season. That Buffalo Sabres number is an interesting one. [Hockey or Die!]

• Setting the odds for the Chicago Blackhawks' trade bait in order to fit everyone under the cap upon re-signing Kane, Toews and Keith. Dustin Byfuglien's(notes) odds might be a little long; ditto Cam Barker(notes). And are we to assume Kris Versteeg(notes) is off the table? [FanHouse]

• Having finished reenacting the Jeff Daniels bathroom scene from "Dumb and Dumber," Milan Lucic(notes) is en route to Atlanta for the Boston Bruins game against the Thrashers. [Bruins Blog]

• Max Talbot(notes) and Sergei Gonchar(notes) are expected back for the Pittsburgh Penguins, which should offset the 10 other injuries they'll suffer before faceoff tonight. It's been that sort of week. [Post Gazette]

• A Peter Budaj(notes) backer admits that he needs to be better for the Colorado Avalanche, even as a backup. [Jibblescribbits]

• Vince Vaughn waits for someone to make someone else's head bleed during the Flyers/Kings game last night. [NHL]

• The Dallas Stars place left wing Fabian Brunnstrom(notes) on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, retroactive to Nov. 7. [Stars]

• The Washington Capitals recall 19-year-old blue-chip defenseman John Carlson(notes) from the AHL. [Capitals]

• The graphic on this Hurricanes/Leafs preview makes us laugh and gives us vertigo. [Sportsnet]

• Good stuff from Dirk Hoag about a potentially pivotal moment in international hockey: Russia's Kontinental Hockey League getting ready to admit its first Swedish club, Stockholm's AIK. As one blogger points out, Stockholm may be a more appealing destination for NHL players who wish to play in the KHL than some of the other locales. [On The Forecheck]

• DetroitHockey.net with a good look at the Wings getting jobbed last night by the ref; it declares: "This is the kind of play that gives credence to conspiracy theories." [DetroitHockey.net]

• In case you haven't see it, The Chief at Abel To Yzerman has decided that calling a segment of the Detroit Red Wings fan base "the tin-foil hat society" is, in fact, having a deeply-held bias against the Detroit Red Wings themselves. Which is, naturally, what the readership he's built on a foundation of indignation wants to hear. [A2Y]

• And because of this unpleasantness with outraged Wings fans, we're now providing fodder for the Hatfields against the McCoys. [Mile High Hockey]

• We wish Second City Hockey would tell us how they really feel about press coverage of Chicago Blackhawks President John McDonough in local media.. [SCH]

• Bettman bashers: Bloge Salming has a video for you. Some people just like to watch the world burn. Very strong language warning. [Bloge Salming]

Finally, Puck Buddy Evan M. sent over the note:

Saturday you wrote an article about a no goal called in the Leafs game, where the puck crossed the line but the goal was called off because the video wasn't conclusive. Pretty funny because the exact same thing happened to the Sharks in their game Sunday vs. the Blackhawks. Puck crossed, goal called off. And, they both happened vs. Chicago.

Take a gander; it's not clear cut, but it speaks to the need of something more than the instant replay we have no to clearly determine whether the puck was in or out. Last night's debacle in Detroit being the most egregious case.

 

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

You're going to disagree with this list.

It's not a prediction; it's a fact. Think about how many regular season, playoff, international, college, minor league and junior league games have been played in the last 10 years. Think about how many times you walked out of an arena during some random battle between two teams thinking, "That's the best hockey game I've ever seen." Think about the build-up, the storylines, the hype before now-classic (or, at the very least, near-classic) games, and how those contests lived up to them.

The 10 games we've selected here came from editorial debates, chats with fellow fans, some polling of the Twitter puckheads and our own recollections of classic games. We're confident they're all among the best for various reasons: Sometimes because of their context or legacy, and sometimes because they were just fantastically entertaining hockey games.

We imagine the comments will be filled with additions and suggestions, and that's how it should be with this list. Other rankings can be solidified statistically or through other analytical means; this one is a bit more subjective. We all have different frames of reference and criteria for great games; try telling a Team Canada fan that the Swedish gold medal above was a more rewarding game than the Canadians' in 2002.

With that, our 10 best games of the last decade are ...

10. Lightning thwart Calgary's Cup clincher (Stanley Cup Final; June 5, 2004)

Before 2004, the last time a team rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals was the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, when they finally gave Ray Bourque a ring and defeated the New Jersey Devils.

Before Game 6 in 2004, Bourque famously reached out to the Tampa Bay Lightning with advice on how to extend their series with the Calgary Flames, who held a 3-2 lead and had a chance to win the Cup on Canadian soil in Game 6.

Whatever he said, it worked, as the Bolts won on a Marty St. Louis goal in double overtime, 3-2, and eventually won the Cup in Game 7 at home. The teams traded scores in a four-goal second period; in the third, Martin Gelinas's "phantom goal" will forever live in playoff infamy. That controversy aside, it was a physical and entertaining game symbolic of the rest of this underrated series.

9. Toews nets shootout hat-trick in world juniors (World Junior Championships, Jan. 3, 2007)

A close game that eventually reached an unbelievable overtime followed by one of the most memorable shootouts in world junior hockey championship history.

The U.S. and Canada battled to a 1-1 tie in the 2007 tournament semifinals in Leksand, Sweden, with the late Luc Bourdon(notes) knotting the score at 12:09 of the third. In the 10-minute, 4-on-4 overtime, Carey Price(notes) stopped 12 American shots and the Canadians thwarted a 4-on-3 power play to force a shootout.

International rules allowed players to appear multiple times in the shootout, which ended up going 14 players deep between the rivals. Thus, Jonathan Toews(notes) and Peter Mueller(notes) had a fantastic duel, with Toews scoring on all three of his attempts and Price stopping Mueller to end the heart-pounding game. We're going to look back at this one fondly when some of these players are NHL superstars well into the next decade.

8. Chicago's historic comeback vs. Calgary (NHL Regular Season; Oct. 13, 2009)

How many fans left their seats to beat the traffic as the Chicago Blackhawks surrendered five goals in the first 11:43 of their game against the Calgary Flames this season? All they ended up missing was a six-goal comeback by the home team that tied an NHL record and set a Blackhawks' franchise record. Brent Seabrook(notes) won the game just 26 seconds into overtime, giving Chicago a 6-5 victory in perhaps the wildest regular season game in the decade. At least played indoors.

7. Double hat-tricks for Ovechkin, Crosby (Eastern Conference semifinals; May 4, 2009)

"Sick game. Sick goals by me and him."

That was Alex Ovechkin(notes) after the Washington Capitals' 4-3 win in Game 3 Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, which featured hat tricks from both Ovechkin and rival Sidney Crosby(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The notion that this showdown between the League's two greatest stars would meet expectations was hard to believe; that they'd blow them away with this mano-a-mano offensive duel was unfathomable. Ovechkin would break the game open by completing his hat trick in the third period; Crosby got his with a defiant goal late in the period.

It was like watching two ballers playing H-O-R-S-E on the playground, and one of the greatest superstar battles in recent memory -- even if the lingering memory is still Sidney complaining about there being too many hats on the ice.

6. Heritage Classic (NHL Regular Season; Nov. 22, 2003)

Obviously, the first regular season outdoor game in NHL history makes this list for the sheer spectacle of it all: The minus-22 degrees Fahrenheit temps with the wind chill; the legends game between Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens greats that looked like "Field of Dreams" if it had been filmed on an Alberta pond; and, of course, the aesthetics of 57,000 fans freezing their behinds off while Jose Theodore(notes) wore a toque over his mask.

Oh, and it was a pretty tight game, too. Richard Zednik(notes) scored the Habs' first and final goals, as Montreal won in the blustery elements by the score of 4-3. His second goal came 1:02 after Jarret Stoll(notes) cut the lead to 3-2.

The Cold War between Michigan State and Michigan in 2001 might have inspired this game; but its success was certainly a harbinger of the Winter Classic juggernaut we currently have on New Year's Day. As a total experience, the Heritage game was a classic.

5. Bruins, Canadiens trade leads in underdog upset (Eastern Conference quarterfinals; April 19, 2008)

The Montreal Canadiens were a 104-point regular season conference champion who entered this series with an 11-game winning streak against the Boston Bruins. The B's were a No. 8 seed that stumbled into the playoffs. The Habs held a 3-1 series lead until the Bruins smacked them, 5-1, at Bell Centre. Expectations were high that the Canadiens would dispatch their pesky rivals in Game 6; they were wrong.

In one of the most brutal, unpredictable playoff games of the decade, the Bruins erased four Montreal leads and scored four goals in the third period for a stunning 5-4 win in Boston. Marco Sturm(notes) scored the game-winner with 2:37 left in regulation. Montreal would go on to win the series, but this game remains an instant classic.

4. Canada defeats US women for gold (Winter Olympics; Feb. 21, 2002)

Yes, love for the ladies.

The context: It was a gold medal game in Salt Lake City, with the Canadian women seeking their first Olympic title (and the first for a Canadian hockey team in 50 years). The stakes, via CTV:

The Canadians had watched the U.S. skate off with gold in Nagano in 1998. Then after eight straight losses to the Americans leading up to the 2002 Games, the taunting was ripe at the Games.

Some U.S. women had scribbled on photos of Canadian players in the athletes' village, and the Canadians heard reports of insulting comments. Rumours fueled the Canadian fire - although they were later proven to be untrue - that the Americans were disrespecting the Canadian flag in the U.S. dressing room.

So yeah, there was some passion heading into this one. Truth be told, it was a fugly game: A penalty-laden affair that lacked flow thanks to a whistle-happy referee (an American, which only fueled Canadian ire). It was a slugfest, if the term can be applied to a fight-less form of puck.

That said, the Canadian women played through 12 penalties and gutted out what was a thrilling 3-2 victory over their bitter rivals. What this one lacked in artistry it made up for in contentious drama.

3. BU's dramatic comeback wins NCAA title (Frozen Four, April 12, 2009)

Any game that legendary Boston 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.

• The Los Angeles Kings will be without Ryan Smyth(notes) for up to a month with "an upper body injury," per Rich Hammond. Smyth is 10th in the NHL in points (23) and one of the primary reasons the Kings are fourth in the West right now. He played 77 games last season for Colorado, but the way he plays the game has had him miss some time in previous seasons.

With injury comes intrigue: Smyth's place on Anze Kopitar's(notes) line now goes to Alexander Frolov(notes), whom you may remember from such posts as "Kings send Frolov message with healthy scratch." He's played better since then, as Coach Terry Murray told Hammond:

"Look, I'm not going to take too much of the credit for taking him out of the lineup. The other part of it, he knows this is a huge year for him contractually as well. Everything that he does, number-wise, is going to be referred to whenever they get into negotiations. So it's very important that he bring his 'A' game every night."

Especially now with Smyth out.

• Small problem for the Montreal Canadiens: Brian Gionta(notes) broke his foot and is out indefinitely, according to RDS. Moving up to the top line in his place was Glen Metropolit(notes), joining Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez(notes). Metro's saying all the right things about this big opportunity. Lord knows the guy can shoot the puck.

• As we mentioned in the Puck Headlines, Jay McKee(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins is out 2-4 weeks with an infected finger, which is probably as gross as it sounds. (Though why it's a big deal is a mystery; Toronto's been playing with a bum Finger for the better part of two years.) Good news: Sergei Gonchar is about ready to return, and both Kris Letang(notes) and Brooks Oprik are back in practice.

• Finally, the Washington Capitals said that Alex Semin is fighting a sore wrist (MRI was negative), Jose Theodore(notes) could miss this weekend's games due to a personal matter and Quintin Laing(notes) had "metal plates put into his broken jaw during surgery last night" and could miss six weeks.

Metal plates into his broken jaw ... and how was your Tuesday night?

• Reminder: Hockey Rumors Live Chat at 1 p.m. EST. Woot!

• Breaking as this was posted: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jay McKee(notes) will miss two weeks to a month with a finger infection, and Mark Eaton(notes) left Wedesday's practice early. Wow, the Penguins' blue line is devastated right now. Is Philippe Boucher(notes) really retired? [Penguins]

• As the Chicago Blackhawks close in on contracts for Patrick Kane(notes), Jonathan Toews(notes) and Duncan Keith(notes), Tim Sassone warns of NHL investigations and a cap crisis. Fatal flaw in the analysis: No way Keith will have a $6 million cap hit if he signs a 12-year deal. [Between The Circles, and more from TFP]

• Justin Bourne with a solid blog about head shots and where the players are in this debate: "Where's the uproar from the players? Guys can't want it in the game" [THN]

• Carrie Underwood said that she's not moving in with Mike Fisher(notes) of the Ottawa Senators any time soon because the next person she moves in with will be her "hubby." Thank god she didn't say "until he wins the Stanley Cup." Poor thing will be in menopause, and that's if she's lucky. [People]

• If the season were to end today, ESPN would give the Hart Trophy to Rick Nash(notes), because for some silly reason Ryan Miller(notes) and Craig Anderson(notes) aren't even mentioned as candidates. But Chris Pronger(notes) is. OK then. [ESPN]

• Today is Sidney Crosby's(notes) day with the Olympic torch, which is being covered by at least one Pittsburgh TV station. Our joke on Twitter this morning: "Last torch-passing that got this amount of coverage in Canada was Bret Hart refusing to job for Shawn Michaels." [WPXI and Metro Canada]

• A valentine to the GTG: "Game-tying goal." In our fracked-up NHL standings system, these little buggers are the reason for charity points. [Copper & Blue]

• Kevin Compton, a San Jose Sharks co-owner, calls the Phoenix Coyotes mess "a joke" and says that the owners aren't the ones keeping Jim Balsillie out of an ownership position in the NHL. Of course, the Sharks voted against his request to own the Coyotes. Of course, Compton and Balsillie have had business dealings in the telecommunications industry in the past. [Fear The Fin]

• "Did you hear that, did you hear about the shouting match between Phaneuf and another player. Somebody was screaming at Phaneuf, calling him selfish." Adrian Dater didn't hear it, but heard someone in Calgary media talk about it, so he Tweeted it. And now he regrets it. [All Things Avs, via Kukla]

• The New York Rangers' lack of secondary scoring is becoming a concern. [NHL]

• We'll have more about this later, but the New York Islanders buzz is getting pretty loud. [Hockey Independent]

• Bitter Leaf Fan's dose of reality on the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs will have half the city reaching for the Canadian Club: "On pace for 12 wins, fewest goals for, most goals against and maxed out at the cap. Two top 10 draft picks in the last two years already in the system. Just think, this is where Chicago was in 2005, and where Pittsburgh and Washington were in 2004. Sadly, I can't see a similar upside for a Leaf team with so few options left." [BLF]

• Al Strachan feels he was unfairly fired from Hockey Night In Canada. According to sources? [Truth and Rumours]

• The Saskatoon Blades' 5th annual Toque Toss Night will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 16. "When the Blades score their first goal of the night, fans can throw these items onto the ice to be donated to a host of local charities." Awfully presumptuous there, aren't we Saskatoon Blades? [Blades]

• From Leahy, a "Mario Lemieux autographed Erie Otters/Lemieux Foundation jersey - Pittsburgh Penguins" on auction from the NHL.

• The roof gets blown off Dallas' Reunion Arena. [Razor With An Edge]

• A prediction that Kyle Wellwood(notes) will "bust the slump like it's the zipper on his 2008 jeans." By a Canadian columnist named Guts McTavish. [Sun Media]

• David Legwand(notes), Joel Ward(notes) and Jerred Smithson(notes) > Joe Thornton(notes), Dany Heatley(notes) and Ryan Clowe. At least last night for the Nashville Predators. [On The Forecheck]

• One fan's battle with Verizon FiOS in DC. [Mike Holden, via JP]

• Finally, this save by Carey Price(notes) of the Montreal Canadiens in last night's shootout was pretty remarkable. Or "retardo," as Two-Line poetically put it.

We all know it's been a goofed-up, topsy-turvy season. Star players have been injured. Good teams have gone bad, and teams that were previously thought to be bad have skated out of Calgary with a three-point lead in the Northwest Division last night.

That unpredictability has spilled over in the scoring race, as we take a check of the leaderboard just over a month-and-a-half into the season. How many of last year's Top 20 scorers are currently in the Top 20 this season?

Eight. Which is to say that there are 12 players defying expectations this season, like Mr. Kopitar.

First, a comparison between the leading scorers at the end of last regular season and the ones in the Top 20 as of this morning, with the brighter names on the left also hitting the list this season:

Some of the missing in action from one year to the next are understandable due to injury: Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) of the Atlanta Thrashers (11 games played), Marc Savard(notes) of the Boston Bruins (7 games), Daniel Sedin(notes) (4 games) and, of course, Evgeni Malkin(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who missed a few games but has 17 points in 14 appearances this season.

That accounts for most of the wounded; what about the rest?

Pavel Datsyuk(notes), Detroit Red Wings (16 points): A snail's-paced start (2 points in 5 games) has finally been shaken off, as Datsyuk now has 12 points in his last nine games. His goal-scoring (4 goals on the season) still needs to pick up, but he's gaining steam with 16 points.

Jarome Iginla(notes), Calgary Flames (17 points): See Datsyuk, Pavel. Four points in the opening eight games caused concern; he quieted them with 11 points in 8 games and now has 12 goals on the season, tying him for fourth in the NHL. Whether he returns to the leader board at the end of the season pretty much depends on Olli Jokinen's(notes) success; but then again, what in Calgary doesn't this season?

Jeff Carter(notes), Philadelphia Flyers (19 points): His 19 points in 17 games puts him right outside the Top 20. By this time last season, Carter had 11 goals on the way to a stunning 46 overall. He has seven right now. One change worth watching: Carter played with a lot with Joffrey Lupul(notes) last season, who left in the Pronger trade; this season, his primary winger man has been Danny Briere(notes).

Michael Cammalleri(notes), Montreal Canadiens (16 points): Again, not a bad start for him, with 16 points in 21 games for what's been a pretty underwhelming Habs team. In fact, he only had 15 points at this time last season. On a line with Scott Gomez(notes) and Brian Gionta(notes), it's not hard to imagine he's going to hit the leaderboard again.

Mike Richards(notes), Philadelphia Flyers (17 points): He has 17 points in 17 games, which puts him right around the 80-point pace he had last season. Now, it's fair to ask why he isn't putting up better numbers with the talent the Flyers have up front and with the best power play (27 percent conversion rate) in the NHL. But it's also fair to say that Simon Gagne's(notes) injury caused a little reshuffling of the forwards that left Richards playing with a few different combos so far. He's done enough offensively to keep the Flyers and Pierre McGuire smiling, though.

Martin St. Louis(notes), Tampa Bay Lightning (19 points): He's got 19 points in 18 games, and helped turn Steven Stamkos(notes) into a Top 20 scorer. He'll be fine.

Alexander Semin(notes), Washington Capitals (17 points): He has 17 points in 18 games, and has shown flashes of the offensive brilliance that landed him on the leaderboard last season. But he's been battling a wrist injury for the better part of two weeks, and it kept him out of the lineup against the New York Rangers last night. Something to watch.

Mike Ribiero, Dallas Stars (15 points): With 15 points in 19 games, Ribiero might not appear to be struggling; but seven of those points game in his first five games. He had 18 points at this juncture last season for a Dallas team that was sinking into the toilet. It's not panic time -- he's a streaky scorer. But with the Brad Richards(notes) line playing well, the Stars need a little more out of Jamie Benn(notes), Brenden Morrow(notes) and Ribeiro.

• • •

The bottom line: Nearly all of these guys are in the hunt again, even as some of their conditions have changed. Clearly, a healthy Kovalchuk or Malkin will get back into the Top 20 in no time. What'll be interesting is if some of the surprises this season -- Rich Peverely, Ryan Smyth(notes) and Dustin Penner(notes), for example -- can keep up their early-season paces.

As well as if we'll be talking about Marian Gaborik's(notes) actual points and goals in April, or what he would have scored had it not been for his injuries. So far, so good for him; the Rangers have to be pleased.

There have been two positive developments for the Boston Bruins in the last few days, which is a welcome change from their pedestrian 8-8-4 start; good for 20 points and 11th in the Eastern Conference, which is a shock to the system for a team that was 11-3-4 at this point last season. 

Good News No. 1: Bill Belichick decided to go for it on 4th-and-2 against the Colts, which caused the mass mobilization of all Boston sports media assets in order to dissect the call down to the quarter-inch. Hence, as Matt Kalman pointed out, there was little-to-no discussion of the Bruins' putrid 4-1 loss against the New York Islanders. 

Good News No. 2: Marc Savard(notes) and Milan Lucic(notes) are both skating and both practicing; they could both return to the lineup this week. Savard hasn't played since Oct. 17 thanks to a broken foot; Lucic hasn't played since Oct. 16 because of a broken index finger. The Bruins record without them: 5-4-4. Their heads have been above water, but treading it has been exhausting.

Will Lucic and Savard spark a team that's looked disinterested in so many situations this season? Or, as one Boston writer asks, are we looking at a Bruins team that's going to need a major change on the ice or behind the bench to turn them into the Stanley Cup contenders many believed them to be in 2010?

Obviously, the offense should improve. The Bruins scored just 11 goals in their eight losses without Lucic and Savard, and only 6 in 7 if you remove the five-goal explosion against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 14.

Without Savard's vital participation, the power play has sunk to 12.9 percent, which is worst in the NHL. The Bruins were fifth with the man advantage last season. He recently said he's confident he can help boost it.

Kathryn Tappen of NESN, an on-air personality, blogged about the players' potential return this week:

At this point, the best help the Bruins will get is not from themselves, but rather from teammates Milan Lucic and Marc Savard. Expect these two to have a huge impact on the team when they return. Not only will their presence boost the morale and confidence of this team, but their talent is sure to bring a flurry of points.

Savard is a playmaker, bottom line. He's incredibly gifted at getting the puck to his goal scorers, and he isn't too shabby at putting the puck in the back of the net himself. Lucic is a strong force to be reckoned with. He creates space on the ice for his linemates, scores goals and energizes his team night after night.

So things could be looking up as soon as Thursday, when the Bruins take on the Atlanta Thrashers. Unless, of course, the lack of Lucic and the scarcity of Savard aren't really the issue.

Again, the Bruins were one game over .500 without them, which means they were one game under with them. There are problems on this team that go beyond the injuries, and Here We Go Bruins! tried to summarize that vibe:

At first it seemed it was a case of a good team that for some reason just didn't show effort on certain nights and wasn't playing hard 60 minute games every night, thus the extended Win-Loss pattern to start the year off.  But now they are showing consistency, consistent sloppy play and some bad luck on the side.  With the exception of a game here or there I haven't seen anything from this team yet this year that has given me any reason to believe they can rise to the occasion and start playing how they should. 

Which is why James Murphy of NESN is a little doom and gloom about the B's prospects, to the point where he reminds readers that "we're only 12 days shy of the four-year anniversary of the Joe Thornton(notes) trade that shocked the hockey world."

Yes, he believes it might take a move of that magnitude to whip the Bruins into shape. From Murph:

They're approaching that point where either the players will be dealt or the coach will pay the price. That's just part of the way it goes in today's NHL. Obviously, the players don't want to see one of their teammates be dealt away, and they don't want to see their coach -- the reigning Jack Adams Award winner -- become a sacrificial lamb.

There was already a quiet shock wave sent through the dressing room when Chuck Kobasew(notes) was dealt away for cap relief on Oct. 18. The next move, however, won't be made to create more cap space, but rather to try and salvage a season that began with Stanley Cup aspirations.

It's still hard to imagine Julien, a winning coach, paying the price for his team failing to fulfill the potential that management believes it has.

Oh, wait -- no it isn't.

It'll be an interesting six weeks for the Bruins, because we imagine the NHL pictured the Winter Classic at Fenway as a battle between Eastern Conference powers; rather than one playoff team and another more concerned with where the Leafs are in the lottery.

Preview: Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames, 9:30 p.m. EST. At the end of October, seven points separated these two teams in the Northwest Division. Now, it's down to one. Curtis Glencross(notes) is back for the Flames, and playing with Jarome Iginla(notes) and Olli Jokinen(notes) on the top line. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Preview: Washington Capitals at New York Rangers, 7 p.m. EST. The assumed return of Ovechkin on Versus, despite the Caps star being annoyingly coy about his status earlier today. The question the Rangers need to start answering: Is "the recent 4-7-1 malaise might be more representative of this club than the 7-1 start?"

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

Evening Reading

• Update on the Patrick Kane(notes), Jonathan Toews(notes) and Duncan Keith(notes) contracts: Bob McKenzie reports that Kane and Toews are "believed to be getting five-year extensions, with each of them worth in excess of $6 million per year" and that "Keith's deal is said to be more complicated, perhaps as long as 13 years." Whoa. [TSN]

• All three players issue varying forms of "hey, what contract?" when asked about reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are about to sign all three pending free agents. [Sun Times]

• Meanwhile, if the Toews/Kane/Marian Hossa(notes) mega-line becomes a reality, Sarah Spain has its nickname ready: "The TKHo Line." [No Spain, No Gain]

• Rob Scuderi(notes) and Ryan Smyth(notes) are both still banged up for the Los Angeles Kings, with concern that Smyth could be out a bit with an upper body injury. [Kings Insider]

• Nice post on Dean Arsene(notes), who made his NHL debut for the Edmonton Oilers after a mere 109 ECHL games and 333 AHL contests. Perseverance, thy name is Arsene. [Bangin Panger]

• So what happens to Henrik Sedin(notes) when Daniel comes back? [Canucks Hockey Blog]

• Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins have created a 30-minute Russian-language radio show devoted to Russian NHL fans that will air each week on the Penguins' new HD radio station (105.9 HD2). What's Russian for Baba Booey again? [Pens]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: Stanley Cup of Chowder on the Blackhawks contracts, via Twitter --

They offered Kane $5,999,998.80...but he demanded the extra $1.20

Bold Prediction: Carolina makes it two in a row with a win in Montreal.

• 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, 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 and worst in the last decade, it's time to look back at the worst teams that the 2000s have produced.

Sixteen teams make the National Hockey League playoffs every spring. Fourteen start their summer vacation early. And of those 14, a handful place their hopes in a ping-pong ball, thinking that if it lands just right, their future fortunes may change. It's an annual rite and for some franchises, the pain of losing and putting a bad hockey product on the ice takes much longer than anticipated.

Some teams have excuses for poor seasons: injuries, declining production in players, and bad luck all play a part in making a bad hockey team.

While there have been a lot of good hockey teams this decade, there have also been a lot of bad ones.

With that, the 10 worst teams of the past decade are ...

10. 2000-01 Tampa Bay Lightning 24-47-6-5 (59 points, 29th in the NHL)

Three years before they won the Stanley Cup, the Tampa core of Vincent Lecavalier(notes), Brad Richards(notes) and Martin St. Louis(notes) began their first season together. It was a third-straight season of progress and the beginnings of a championship team. Midway through the season, head coach Steve Ludzik was fired and John Tortorella was brought in along with a new attitude to the team. Torts didn't bring about immediate change in the standings, but the seeds were planted, even after a stretch midseason where the Lightning managed just three wins in 21 games.

9. 2003-04 Chicago Blackhawks 20-43-11-8 (59 points, tied for 29th in NHL)

With the recent success of the Blackhawks, it seems so long since they were irrelevant and buried under the tight-fist of former owner Bill Wirtz. Highly touted rookie Tuomo Ruutu(notes) made his debut in Chicago in '03 and brought hope that the youth movement on GM Mike Smith's(notes) watch would eventually pay dividends. Ruutu had a successful rookie campaign with 44 points, but the lack of a consistent presence in net saw six goaltenders between the pipes during the season.

8. 2002-03 Carolina Hurricanes 22-43-11-6 (61 points, 30th in the NHL)

Things should have been rosy for the ‘Canes in coming off a Stanley Cup appearance and losing only Martin Gelinas(notes) as a regular from the lineup in the off-season. However, Arturs Irbe took a step back, winning just seven games after a 20-win season in '02 and there was a regular rotation of Carolina players coming in and out of the trainers' room. At one point, the Hurricanes went 1-12-0-3 in a 16 game stretch and lost both Rod Brind'Amour(notes) and Erik Cole(notes) to injury, derailing any hopes of a turnaround.

7. 2003-04 Washington Capitals 23-46-10-3 (59 points, tied for 29th in the NHL)

Deciding to go with youth was the goal for the Caps in '03-04. Jaromir Jagr(notes), Sergei Gonchar(notes), Robert Lang(notes) and Peter Bondra(notes) were some of the big money makers on the roster who were dealt away in order to let the kids play. At the end of the rainbow would eventually be Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Green(notes) as two of their three first-round picks in the 2004 NHL Draft. In goal, after three 30-win seasons, Olaf Kolzig(notes) won just 19 games as the talent that was once in front of him slowly disappeared.

6. 2005-06 St. Louis Blues 21-46-15 (57 points, 30th in NHL)

The year after the lockout was a funny one. Teams were dealing the effects of the salary cap floor and ceiling for the first team, and trying to mold their rosters around how the "new" NHL was going to be played. The new style of hockey that was brought on by the lockout was meant for younger, faster players, but the '05-06 Blues went veteran heavy. Eight of their ten leading scorers were over the age of 30, including 38-year old Scott Young and 35-year old Doug Weight(notes) who would be dealt later in the season to the eventually Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

St. Louis' 25-year long playoff streak came to an end as a new era was ushered in as Dave Checketts bought the team from the Laurie family. Erik Johnson(notes) was the reward for the Blues' third-worst season in franchise history.

5. 2001-02 Columbus Blue Jackets 22-47-8-5 (57 points, 29th in the NHL)

Progress was hoped for in Columbus' second season in the NHL, but their poor showing was rewarded with selecting Rick Nash(notes) No. 1 overall the following June, so it wasn't all bad in the end. Ron Tugnutt and Marc Denis(notes) kept the net warm while '01 first-round pick Pascal Leclaire(notes) finished out his junior career. Led by younger versions of Ray Whitney(notes) and Mike Sillinger(notes) (only on his eighth team back then), the Blue Jackets started out of the gate very slow, winning just one game in their opening 13.

4. 2006-07 Philadelphia Flyers 22-48-12 (56 points, 30th in the NHL)

The summer of 2006 saw plenty of turnover for the Flyers, as they lost Keith Primeau, Kim Johnsson(notes), Michal Handzus(notes) and Eric Desjardins. New team captain Peter Forsberg(notes) was limited by that pesky foot and played just 40 games. Eight games into the season saw turnover in the management sector as GM Bobby Clarke resigned and head coach Ken Hitchcock was fired. The current head coach/GM battery of John Stevens and Paul Holmgren took over, but it wasn't enough to save the Flyers from their worst season in franchise history where they declined 45 points from the 2005-06 season.

3. 2003-04 Pittsburgh Penguins 23-47-8-4 (58 points, 30th in NHL)

Three key stats to point out: Rico Fata(notes) minus-46. Dick Tarnstrom(notes) minus-37. Mario Lemieux coming off a 91-point season: 10 games played. This Penguins team was dubbed the "X-Generation", but the Ramzi Abids, Matt Bradleys and Fatas would not see a long future in Pittsburgh and weren't the seeds that helped grow the franchise into a Stanley Cup winner. Before there was success, there were a bevy of bumps.

Most memorable about the '03-04 season, besides 2003 No. 1 overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury's(notes) NHL debut, was the 18-game losing streak the Penguins went on from Jan. 13 to Feb. 25. Half of those games saw Pittsburgh allow five goals or more.

Yeah, the defense was pretty bad. 

2. 2000-01 New York Islanders 21-51-7-3 (52 points, 30th in the NHL)

A busy summer in 2000 still haunts the Islanders to this day. First, the previous spring saw new owners Sanjay Kumar and Charles Wang of Computer Associates fame take over the team. Next, at the NHL Entry Draft, with the Islanders brass in love with Rick DiPietro(notes), general manager Mike Milbury decided to trade Roberto Luongo(notes) to the Florida Panthers and thus Mad Mike's legend grew. This season would also be young Zdeno Chara's(notes) last in an Islanders uniform, as he was shipped to Ottawa in a deal for Alexei Yashin(notes) at the 2001 Draft.

Islander fans saw eight losing streaks of three games or more, including separate eight and seven game streaks. They finished out of the playoffs for the seventh straight season and had twelve players finish in double digits as a minus.

1. 2001-02 Atlanta Thrashers 19-47-11-5 (54 points, 30th in the NHL)

There was a lot of promise on this Thrashers squad. Dany Heatley(notes) and Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) led the team in scoring as rookies, but the supporting cast couldn't find the back of the net often when the duo weren't on the ice. Like with all bad teams, goaltending was the key issue. Milan Hnilicka(notes) was "the man," but only could win 13 games in 60 appearances. He'd played in just 23 more games in the NHL. Of the 44 skaters who wore a Thrashers uniform, only two, Yuri Butsayev and Ben Simon(notes), recorded plus ratings. The power play was especially brutal finishing 29th in the NHL with a 12 percent success rate.

Falling behind was also a knock against Atlanta who was 1-26-5-1 when trailing after the first period and 0-38-5-2 when having to come from behind after two periods.

Heatley and Kovalchuk combined for 55 of the Thrashers' 187 goals. If either of those two were having an off night, might as well close the curtain.

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.

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

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. EST. A win in Philly gives the Devils a 10-0-0 start on the road, tying a Buffalo Sabres' mark from 2006. Ah, the catch: Martin Brodeur(notes) has lost five of six starts against the Bullies and his last three at Wachovia Center. Should be a good one; enjoy it, everyone but DirecTV subscribers.

Preview: Anaheim Ducks at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:30 p.m. EST. Due to injuries, the Penguins' top defensive pairing right now is Mark Eaton(notes) and Jay McKee(notes), who aren't exactly Lidstrom and Rafalski when it comes to puck-moving defensemen. Fed up by constant visitations by the injury bug, Pensburgh presents the Top 9 Penguins Injuries That Have Yet To Occur. J.S. Giguere gets the nod for the Ducks, and Kyle Calder(notes) is expected to be in the lineup.

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

Evening Reading

• From Kevin Allen of USA Today: "Frightening stat of week: Hurricanes on pace for 43 points. We haven't seen a NHL team under 52 since expansion Atlanta had 39 in 1999-00." [@kausatoday]

• One man's take on the USA Hockey roster for 2010. [Pete Prose]

• Fantastic read by Eric Duhatschek on Wayne Gretzky and his sabbatical from hockey. [Globe & Mail]

• Could Jonathan Cheechoo(notes) of the Ottawa Senators be done at 29? [Kennedy]

• Tuukka Rask(notes) gets the start for the Boston Bruins against the New York Islanders. [NESN]

• Meanwhile, huge start tonight for Mike Smith(notes) as Antero Niittymaki(notes) rides the pine for the first time in six games for the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Bolts Report]

• Interesting marketing pitch from the Lightning, by the way, as they ask for photos from fans around the world. [Raw Charge]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: From Mat M., commenting on the "Toronto Maple Lefas" fan photo:

The Leafs spell their name wrong anyway. They should be the Leaves.

True dat.

Bold Prediction: There's a shutout in the Oilers/Jackets game, and Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) pitches it. (Predicted before the game, we'll have you know.)

• 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]

Via Capgeek, the Blackhawks have roughly $13.47 million in available cap space after next off-season's free agents come off the books; which is why the majority of hockey pundits have questioned how, exactly, Chicago keeps restricted free agents Kane, Toews and defenseman Duncan Keith(notes).

Yet LeBrun writes to expect new deals for Kane and Toews within the next two weeks. Does that mean we're watching Keith's last season in Chicago?

The timing of the Kane and Toews signings would be interesting. It would establish concrete numbers for next year's payroll; not only for the Blackhawks but for teams looking to snag a high-salaried Chicago player (Patrick Sharp(notes), Dustin Byfuglien(notes)) the team might still have to shed in order to keep their star free agents.

Also interesting: The potential numbers. LeBrun doesn't cite any specifics, but logic would dictate that they're both going to fall between Cristobal Huet's(notes) $5.625 million (the highest non-Brian Campbell(notes) salary on the roster) and the "hometown" discounts ($8.7 million per season) Sidney Crosby(notes) and Evgeni Malkin(notes) gave the Pittsburgh Penguins during their post-rookie contracts.

If it's lower than that, it'll still be in league with something like Phil Kessel's $5.4 million annually over five years. (Anything less, and forget the Indian: Toews and Kane should be committed to a mental healthy facility.)

But as agent Pat Brisson closes in on deals for Frodo and Samwise, it becomes the Duncan Keith Show. Talks with GM Stan Bowman and Keith's agent started before the season, and it'll be interesting to see how those dynamics change once Kane and Toews sign.

As Jessie Rogers pointed out on ESPN Chicago, Keith's in a different position than the other two since he'll be unrestricted in Summer 2011. Does that give him extra leverage with Chicago? Does that make him more or less appealing to an offer sheet as an RFA?

We've been told on numerous occasions by hockey smarties that Keith is the best defenseman on the Chicago roster (leading in TOI at 26:35 and shorthanded TOI 3:37) and, because of that, should take priority over Toews and Kane. But that's the hockey argument; getting the forwards signed is the PR argument, and image has been everything for the Blackhawks during their resurgence -- so 20 Cent and Captain Marvel get done first.

Keith? Like Red Light District opined, we're still not entirely convinced they can keep him, considering the salary cap constraints. It's hard to find anyone on or off the record willing to predict they can retain Kane, Toews and Keith without moving a significant salary. But we'll all have a better picture of this if and when Kane and Toews make bank.

 

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:

Preview: Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers, 7 p.m. EST. One day after topping the Calgary Flames at home, the Sabres visit Philly in a game that can give them a true test of how good they really are. Ray Emery(notes) is expected to be in net for the Flyers after backstopping them to wins in their last five games. In that stretch Emery has posted a .954 save-percentage and 1.39 goals-against average. It should be quite the goaltending duel between Ryan Miller(notes) and Emery. 

Preview: San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. EST. Times are tough for the Blues and owner Dave Checketts let it be know that he's not happy: "All year long, we should compete for first or second in our division. This team is good enough and that's what we expect from them. I think everyone can expect that. And it's top to bottom ... everybody in the organization has to be on that page. It's time to win. We have everything we need to win. There's no excuse." They'll face a red hot Sharks team that is 8-0-2 in their last ten games. 

Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche, 10 p.m. EST. A losing streak is going to come to end as these two face each other for the third time already season (both shutouts). Milan Hejduk(notes) is expected to be back in the lineup for the Avs who are trying to avoid a three-game losing streak, which would be their longest of the season.

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

Evening Reading

-The Florida Panthers will announce new ownership on Monday that promise "We're going to be there with them, we're going to be crying with them, we're going to be laughing with them." With them, not at them. [Sun-Sentinel]

-Evgeni Malkin(notes) returns tonight for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they lose Chris Kunitz(notes) for two weeks. [Tribune-Review]

-Superstitions on the Chicago Blackhawks include: boxing the team trainer, carrying a tennis ball, and a "4:30 chew".  [ESPN Chicago]

-Sure, Rick Nash's(notes) shootout winnerl last night wacky and fun, but Maxim Afinogenov(notes) showed us some vintage dangling against the Kings:

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: "Hi, I'm Marty's sister in Law, and he will always be number one with me."

Bold Prediction: Anze Kopitar(notes) takes a stranglehold on the scoring lead with a three-point night. 

(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...)

• Thanks to everyone who helped carry over the "Unpublished NHL Books" jokes from the Puck Daddy Rumors Chat to Twitter yesterday afternoon with hilarious results. Check out Jeff Marek of Hockey Night in Canada Radio and Jibblescribbits for some of the comedy gold. "Thinking Inside the Box" by Dale Hunter and "If I Did It" by Todd Bertuzzi(notes) are two of the best. 

• If Randy Carlyle needed a vote of confidence as the Anaheim Ducks struggle, GM Bob Murray emphatically gave him one: "There's going to be a lot of players going through the turnstiles going out the door before coaches go out the door here. And our players better get that through their thick skulls." [LA Times, halfway down]

• Peter Forsberg(notes) may skip the NHL and stay with Modo. [All Things Avs]

• That said, the Vancouver Canucks are happy to wait for the Return of Foppa. [Province]

• What's happened to Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason(notes)? It would appear the  defense in front of him (or lack thereof) is as much to blame as any sophomore slump. [FanHouse]

• Jarome Iginla(notes) doesn't exactly back down from a brawl, which is one of the reasons he's Jarome Iginla. So it's interesting to see the Calgary Flames captain deny "the red-hot rumour making the rounds on the Internet, and amongst the Montreal media" that he challenged the Canadiens' bench to a fight. [Sun Media]

• If the NHL decides to end participation in the Winter Olympics, it'll be because of powerful voices like that of Lou Lamoriello: "Those are prime dates. The United States is coming off football (following the Super Bowl). We have an opportunity to keep the fans. That's when teams are really starting to go up or go down." [Fire & Ice]

• The Hockey News names Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger(notes) as the "nastiest and most intimidating" D-man in the League. More importantly: "He will be featured in an upcoming Pepsi Max advertisement with Mike Richards(notes) in Maxim magazine." Otherwise known as "the issue of Maxim Pierre McGuire has already pre-ordered." [Philly.com]

• Japers' Michael Nylander(notes) timeline shows two things: That this story has dragged on for what feels like a century and that the Washington Capitals will never sign another free agent to a contract like this again on George McPhee's watch. [Japers Rink]

• As if the Carolina Hurricanes didn't have enough problems this season, Bob from Canes Country writes that they're financially handcuffed thanks to the money being spent on management and players: "Looking at the grand scheme of things and the results so far this season, this might be one of the most over-paid, under-performing group of players in the league since the inception of the salary cap." [Canes Country]

• Your guide to picking at the Hurricanes' carcass this season. [Silver Sevens]

• THN editor Jason Kay sings the praises of Martin Brodeur(notes), and when you compare his consistency with that of other NHL peers it's difficult not to. [Hockey News]

• Gary Bettman and Bill Daly will meet with City of Glendale officials on Monday as the slow process of altering the Phoenix Coyotes' lease and finding a buyer gains steam. [CP]

• "No, seriously, what's it like? Does the air smell differently? Can you, like, see over mountains and stuff?" [Getty]

• It would appear that Semyon Varlamov(notes) will get the start for the Washington Capitals against the Minnesota Wild tonight, after winning in relief of Jose Theodore(notes) earlier in the week. Alex Ovechkin(notes), however, appears out again. [Capitals Insider]

• The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without Brooks Orpik(notes) for about two weeks. [TSN]

• BREAKING: The Toronto Maple Leafs don't get recognized in Chicago. [Cox]

• Do the constant line-change mind games on home ice wear down players, making it easier to play in the road instead? [Puck Update]

• How do you spell Vezina Trophy?  Josh spells it V-o-k-o-u-n. [Josh Q. Public]

• Totally agree with this: It's damn impressive Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) bounced back from injury that quickly. It's what leaders do. [Sports Climax]

• Part Two of OGA's "Maurice Richard and the Myth of 50 in 50," for you stat-heads. [OGA]

• Finally, Jack Edwards has no idea how underwhelming this fight was. Because he's Jack Edwards:

 

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.

(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.)

Our final end of decade rankings list will be of the best goals of the past decade, so stay tuned for that.

This list remembers those goals that had meaning and weren't just pretty to look at. There are hundreds of thousands of goals scored in all levels of hockey annually, but there are few that hold much importance to a fan base or a league or the game itself.

Here are the Top 10 most significant goals of the last decade ...

10. Andrew Brunette's(notes) overtime winner in Game 7 of the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals

No one gave the Minnesota Wild a chance against the two-time Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was the first playoff appearance in franchise history for the Wild, and they were expected to play the "happy to be here" part and go away quickly.

Things didn't go quite as the script planned, as Minnesota clawed back from a 3-1 series deficit and Brunette's overtime goal in Game 7 ended the series in dramatic fashion. The series winner would also be the last that was allowed by Patrick Roy who would retire in the off-season. The goal started a postseason run all the way to the Western Conference finals before the Wild ran out of gas against the Anaheim Ducks.

9. Petr Sykora's(notes) goal in the third overtime of Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup finals

Sykora's goal did two things for the '08 Finals: It prolonged a series that had much hype heading into it, avoiding disappointment; and it turned into something that quickly put more eyes on to it. Even casual puck fans know that playoff hockey is great hockey, but overtime playoff hockey is gold. Two nights later, Game 6 quickly became must-watch TV, not only because Detroit had a second shot at winning the Stanley Cup, but how Sykora's goal gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a thought of hope heading into what would be the final game of the series. 

8. Brett Hull's 700th goal in 2003

Only five other players had hit the 700-goal total in NHL history before Hull slapped home his milestone tally against the San Jose Sharks. Only Wayne Gretzky reached the mark faster. Currently sitting third all-time in the goals scored category in NHL history with 741, Hull enjoyed a 37-goal season in 2002-03, his next to last full season in the NHL. While the feat of reaching 500 goals is a celebrated achievement in the NHL, hitting 700 is something that requires a special player.

7. Maria Rooth's shootout goal at 2006 Olympics stuns women's hockey world

Women's hockey was best (and really only) known for the Canada/USA rivalry, which culminated at the 1998 and 2002 Olympic gold medal games. Rooth's goal giving Sweden the upset over Team USA in Torino was monumental because it showed that women's hockey was more than just the American and Canadian rivalry. It also saved the Swedish women's hockey program, which was on the verge of going extinct in the years between the Salt Lake and Torino Games.

6. Tyler McGregor ends the 2006 NCAA West Regional Semis in shocking fashion

The 2006 West Regional Finals was supposed to feature the mighty Minnesota Golden Gophers against either college hockey powerhouses Michigan or North Dakota. A funny thing happened on the way to the final in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Little Holy Cross crashed the party and upset the Golden Gophers after Tyler McGregor's overtime goal. This truly was a ‘Miracle on Ice' moment for college hockey. Heading into the game, the Crusaders had never won a NCAA tournament game and Minnesota's roster featured 14 NHL draft picks compared to 0 for Holy Cross.

5. The 'Professor' swings the tide of 2002 Cup Finals

The 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings were no doubt the best team of this decade. When they entered the Stanley Cup Finals that year, they were facing a red hot Carolina Hurricanes teams. After splitting the first two games at home, the Red Wings found themselves down 2-1 late in the third period of Game 3 before Brett Hull deflected the tying goal past Arturs Irbe, sending the game into overtime. With no goals through the first two extra periods, it wasn't until 14:47 of the third overtime before the game was decided. Igor Larionov, 42-years young at the time, dangled his way around Bates Battaglia(notes) and a sprawling Irbe before backhanding the winner top-shelf.

Detroit did not lose again in the series and later claimed their 10th Stanley Cup in five games.

4. Jason Arnott's(notes) Cup-winning goal in 2000

How lucky were we, as hockey fans, that two years in a row the Stanley Cup finals ended with an overtime goal?

A member of the New Jersey's "A" line along with Patrick Elias and Petr Sykora, Arnott's goal 8:20 into the second overtime in Game 6 gave the Devils their second Stanley Cup title in five seasons. It was the 15th time in NHL history that the Stanley Cup was won in overtime and the only time this decade it's happened. 

3. Ilya Kovalchuk's(notes) golden goal at the 2008 World Championships

After to having watched the Canadians win gold on Russian soil a year earlier as they managed only a bronze medal, Team Russia returned the favor a year later when the World Championships were played in Canada for the first time in the tournaments history. Ilya Kovalchuk sent the final against Canada into overtime and then sniped home the winner to give Russia their first gold medal since 1993. The Atlanta Thrashers captain picked the right time to score his only two goals of the tournament as Rick Nash(notes) sat in the box after a controversial delay of game penalty.

2. Marc-Andre Fleury's(notes) blunder gives Team USA gold at the '04 World Juniors

The United States had only medaled three times since the World Junior Hockey Championships became an official tournament in 1977 with two bronze medals and a silver. The 2004 tournament in Finland saw an upstart US squad with future NHL'ers like David Booth(notes), Ryan Kesler(notes), Zach Parise(notes) (tournament MVP), and Ryan Suter(notes).

Down 3-1 in the second period of the gold medal game against Canada, Team USA battled back with goals from Kesler and Patrick O'Sullivan(notes) to tie things up heading into the final frame. With less than five minutes remaining, Marc-Andre Fleury tried to clear a puck from the defensive zone, but it ended up hitting off Braydon Coburn(notes) and into the Canadian net.

Team USA would win 4-3, but Canada would not have to wait long to relish a gold medal. Since the 2004 tournament, Team Canada has not lost a gold medal game and will look to win their sixth consecutive World Junior title next month.

1. Joe Sakic(notes) ends Canada's 50-year wait for gold

The last time Canada had won gold before their triumph in Salt Lake, they had beaten the United States. How fitting it was that they reclaimed gold against their biggest rival. Jarome Iginla(notes) and Joe Sakic each scored twice, with the now-retired Colorado Avalanche captain sealing things with just over a minute remaining in the third period.

After Sakic's goal, a giant monkey was seen crawling off the shoulders of Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky's back, and the world hockey power was finally back on top of the international scene.

• Remember: Rumors Chat Thursday.

• Big news from the GM meetings today: There will be some sort of new NHL rule regarding hits to the head. A committee will be formed, a report will be given in March and the consensus is that there will be some sort of penalty for things like blindside hits to the head. Again, the vibe isn't that there will be the kind of outright "ban" that we've seen at other levels, although that's on the table. But there's going to be something added to the rulebooks. [Globe & Mail]

• Rich Chere of the Star Ledger talks with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer(notes) who tells him that a trade from Anaheim this season is "a possibility" and that he doesn't have a no-movement clause. Wonder where Nieds would be headed if the Ducks are still struggling in 2010. Say, where is his brother playing these days? [Newark Star Ledger]

• Elliotte Friedman has the latest on agent Allan Walsh's Twitter-promotion of client Jaroslav Halak(notes) and ruffling of Montreal feathers. Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey thought Walsh's actions were a 'My dad is bigger than your dad,' kind of thing." Paging Dr. Freud. [CBC Sports]

• The city of Pittsburgh has its own cereal. Clearly, there's only one man worthy enough to grace the cover of the box: Max Talbot(notes), superstar. [Pensburgh]

• Neate Sager probably isn't going to make any friends with the Ottawa Senators (or in the Ottawa media) for this blistering dose of reality about the franchise's attendance issues and fan support this season: "Ottawa is like a city composed of insecure teenage girls. The analogy fits Toronto, too, except in T.O. the creature has sharper claws. If Toronto is the character Rachel McAdams played in Mean Girls, Ottawa is the one played by Lacey Chabert. Fitting in and doing whatever is popular at that moment is everything, because they know they can be cast out and won't be missed." It's a must-read. [Out Of Left Field, via On The Forecheck]

• It's Remembrance Day and Veteran's Day today, and Chemmy had an outstanding post on Pension Plan Puppets about Don Cherry's consistent commitment to the troops. Thank a vet today, will ya? [PPP]

• Darcy Tucker(notes) is due back for the Colorado Avalanche against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. [CBC Sports]

• Michael Farber's annual list of underappreciated hockey people is always an interesting, random assortment. Among the folks making the cut this year: Pittsburgh Penguins broadcasters Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey. [SI]

• Peter Forsberg(notes) and Chris Chelios(notes) were hot topics of conversation at the GM meetings, with the Phoenix Coyotes interested in bringing Cheli to the desert, where he will actually bring the average age of Arizona residents down we imagine. [Sun Media]

• Did you know the dude who played Rangers mascot Bobby Granger on MSG Network was a pro wrestler? [Indy Wrestling News]

• There's no surprising Lou Lamoriello. He knows all. [NorthJersey.com]

• Fabian Brunnstrom(notes) is out for a game after injuring his shoulder in practice. [ESPN Dallas]

• Mike Danton's father talks about what he expects from tonight's "untold story" interview on Sportsnet. [Sun Media]

• The Colorado Avalanche's third jersey will be officially unveiled on Thursday, and ... well, we'll reserve judgment on these until they're official. What you see above is a screen grab from Chris Creamer's logos site (via UniWatch) that leaks the Florida Panthers' third jersey logo and color. So ... Wild third jersey, take three? Chris from Icethetics wonders where the whiskers went. [Icethetics]

• Ken Campbell on a meeting between Gary Bettman and the KHL's president, and how relations between the leagues probably aren't getting any better in the near future. [THN]

• The Washington Capitals report that TMZ has discovered Alex Ovechkin(notes). We're about one tabloid click away from Perez Hilton drawing white dots on Ovi's face, aren't we? [Capitals]

• Every blog needs to do this: Stanley Cup of Chowder presents hidden gems from the Boston Bruins media guide. "Andrew Bodnarchuk's biggest fear/phobia is the "the feel of cotton balls." [SCOC]

• Mike Komisarek(notes) is still missing from Leafs practice. [Leafs]

• The Detroit Red Wings add a Spartan, claim Drew Miller(notes) off of waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Lightning Strikes]

• Steve McIntyre was placed on entry waivers, with the aim of sending him to Rochester for the Florida Panthers. [On Frozen Pond]

• Finally, it was a four-fight card last night between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. Here's Tanner Glass(notes) and Cam Janssen(notes) in a spirited affair. [Hockey Fights]

No. 1 Star: David Perron(notes), St. Louis Blues
The third-year left wing and former first-round pick seems to be improving with every shift, and he gave us his best game to date here, potting three goals as the Blues rolled past the Vancouver Canucks, 6-1. It's the second straight game he's been a difference-maker; Perron notched two points and had eight shots on goal in Sunday's overtime loss at Atlanta. The Blues have a good thing going with this line of Perron, Andy McDonald(notes) and Brad Boyes; that trio combined for five goals and 10 points on the evening (Boyes 1-3-4, McDonald 1-2-3).

No. 2 Star: Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), Calgary Flames
So much for the October slump – the Calgary netminder has been fantastic in three November victories (just two goals allowed) and the Montreal Canadiens weren't able to beat him in 25 attempts here. Kipper gets the nod over the goaltender below for a few key reasons; he was working on the road, he faced more power-play opportunities, and he had less margin of error to work with (Calgary put just one shot past Jaroslav Halak(notes), who was outstanding in his own right).

No. 3 Star: Tim Thomas(notes), Boston Bruins
His teammates "exploded" for two goals (and eventually a third into an empty net) and Thomas easily made it stand up, stopping 27 shots en route to a 3-0 blanking of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Thomas also had some luck on his side; a crazy carom from the corner boards was headed into a vacated Boston cage, but it glanced against the far post and dribbled untouched through the crease. Give Zdeno Chara(notes) an assist in this shutout; the blueline stud logged 25:09 of ice time (much of it against Pittsburgh's top guys) and was plus-2.

Honorable Mention: Dan Boyle(notes) single-handedly bailed out the Sharks against an upset-minded Nashville club, setting up the tying goal with 6:34 to play, then scoring the game winner with 60 ticks remaining. Sooner or later, there's going to be a Norris Trophy on this guy's mantle. … Niklas Backstrom(notes) couldn't buy a road victory for a while but now he has two in a row. He kicked out 37 of 39 shots at Toronto. … Devin Setoguchi(notes) (leg) returned to the lineup after missing seven games and buried his eighth goal of the year (a lucky deflection off a Nashville stick, but hey, it counts). … Jarome Iginla(notes) had the only tally in the Calgary win; the reigning Player of the Week has five markers in his last four games. … Jonathan Cheechoo(notes) finally found the scoresheet for the Ottawa Senators, a pretty top-shelf job. Jason Spezza(notes) also was heard from, creating plenty of offense during regulation (four shots), then clinching the shootout with a nifty deke. Dustin Penner(notes) had one of the three goals for the scrappy Edmonton Oilers, who won‘t mind grabbing a point on the road. He's up to 11-11-22 for the year.

Phil Kessel(notes) had a goal and five shots, giving him a 2-2-4 line and 21 SOG since he returned four games ago. Boston fans don't want to think about it. … Two more points and five shots for Joe Pavelski(notes); he's got four points since returning two games ago. … Emerging Alexei Ponikarovsky(notes) filled the box score for the Toronto Maple Leafs, potting his seventh goal, collecting five shots and picking up four PIMs. … It's encouraging to see Patrice Bergeron(notes) contributing again. He's had a point in the last three games (that's cause for celebration in The Hub these days), including a 1-1-2 effort against the Penguins. Normally we don't spotlight empty-net tallies, but Bergeron deserves credit for burying his shot from deep in the Boston end. … Underrated Mikko Koivu(notes) had a goal and two helpers at Toronto while Marek Zidlicky(notes) contributed a power-play goal and an assist. … Patric Hornqvist(notes) finally got a break, scoring his fourth of the year on five shots. He's piled up 17 SOG in his last three games.

Did You Know?: Marcel Goc(notes) scored just 20 goals in 265 games with Sharks, but he looked like a sniper in his return to San Jose, burying a wrist shot from the left circle for his first goal of the year. It was his first score in 31 games dating back to last season.

Dishonorable Mention: So much for the Andrew Raycroft(notes) run. The Razor was cut for four goals on 13 shots at St. Louis before the Canucks brought Roberto Luongo(notes) (rib) in for relief. Luongo, making his first appearance since Oct. 27, stopped 15 of 17 shots. … Make it five straight pointless games for Sidney Crosby(notes), and he's minus-6 over that span. … Lee Stempniak(notes) wasn't a factor on offense and finished minus-3 in Toronto. … Shea Weber(notes) (foot) returned for the Predators and didn't look all that bad, but his timing was a little off; he couldn't find the net with any of his booming slap shots. … Tomas Plekanec(notes) didn't have a shot and was held off the sheet for his third straight game. … Kevin Bieksa(notes) got into a third-period scrap with B.J. Crombeen(notes) and didn't do much on the power play (one shot). He's got just one point in his last seven games. A handful of Bieksa's teammates took it on the plus-minus chin; Steve Bernier(notes), Sami Salo(notes) and Alex Burrows(notes) all went minus-3.

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:

Three quick notes: Our End of Decade series continues Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you missed last weekend's 10 Most Brutal Injuries, check out it. Also: Jersey Fouls on Wednesday and our rumors chat will be held on Thursday this week.

• Bob McKenzie of TSN with waivers news: "Edmonton puts Steve MacIntyre(notes) on waivers. Buffalo puts Adam Mair(notes) on waivers. Washington's Michael Nylander(notes) clears" waivers. MacIntyre has played five minutes in four games. Mair's been a model citizen but a healthy scratch this season. He can help someone. Nylander ... sheesh, what a mess. [@TSNBobMcKenzie]

• Video of Alex Ovechkin(notes) skating, shooting, not telling the media he'll be out a month and forcing his team to correct their own player's statement. Russia's leading comedian now says he'll miss a week. [Capitals Insider]

• Your Three Stars for last week in the NHL: Jarome Iginla(notes) of the Calgary Flames; Evgeni Nabokov(notes) of the San Jose Sharks; Chris Pronger(notes) of the Philadelphia Flyers. [NHL]

• Center Jonathan Toews(notes) and left wing Ben Eager(notes) are expected back for the Chicago Blackhawks tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Toews missed six games with a concussion, during which he got dumber. Getting the captain back on the 3-for-35 power play will certainly be a welcome development for the Hawks. [Daily Herald]

• It's Hall of Fame induction day in Toronto, as Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull and Lou Lamoriello get their rings. More on the HOF later today. [Y! Sports]

• With the 2009 class ready for induction, attention naturally turns to the Hall of Fame Class of 2010, featuring Joe Nieuwendyk(notes) (shoo-in), John LeClair(notes), Peter Bondra(notes), Pierre Turgeon(notes) and Theo Fleury(notes), as well as holdovers like Dave Andreychuk, Dino Ciccarelli, Doug Gilmour and Pavel Bure. Oh, and some gentleman named Eric Lindros(notes), who Mike Zeisberger writes will be the most hotly debated candidate in recent memory. [Sun Media]

• Scott Clemmensen(notes) decides the best thing to do when the Florida Panthers are struggling is to throw his teammates under the bus. Coach Peter DeBoer: "I understand where a goaltender who has let in [12] goals in his last two starts would be frustrated, but it's misdirected." [Sun Sentinel]

• With Cam Ward(notes) out at least a month with that lacerated leg, the Carolina Hurricanes turn to veteran goalie Manny Legace(notes) with a one-year contract. Smart move for the Canes, especially considering that Sarah Palin isn't scheduled to visit North Carolina for quite some time. [CP]

• David Krejci(notes) could be back for the Boston Bruins against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday after suffering through H1N1. [Bruins Blog]

• Why does Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle need a $56 million loan? [LA Weekly]

• Wait, so you're telling us that Phil Kessel(notes) hasn't walked on water or cured any lepers yet? Curious. [Toronto Sports Media Blog]

• Should Ottawa fans feel shame for not supporting a minor league game in their arena over the weekend? [Off the Posts]

• Martin Biron(notes) vs. Dwayne Roloson(notes)! May the best goalie whose trade value hopefully rises to the point where the New York Islanders turn them into another asset win! [Lighthouse Hockey]

• BD Gallof with sad news about the end of Radek Martinek's(notes) season and some Lighthouse Project tidbits. [Islanders Independent]

• Stormtroopers ... Darth Vader ... Chewbacca ... Milan Lucic(notes) ... this thing is a pepperoni pizza, a glass of scotch and a Scarlett Johansson away from our wildest dreams being fulfilled. [Bruins, via Puck Buddy Jeff Israel]

• We Hate It When Friends Fight, Part One: David Staples going after Adrian Dater's Twitter claim that Edmonton is a "dog team" by saying that Denver is "America's version of Calgary." [Avs Talk]

• We Hate It When Friends Fight, Part Two: George James Malik got sarcastic and bitter after his Detroit Red Wings lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Pension Plan Puppets said "right back atcha" with a scathing response. [PPP]

• Giggy to the Leafs? The OC Register hears things. [OC Register]

• Roberto Luongo(notes) will be out a wee bit longer thanks to the flu. [Sun]

• UConn has a third jersey that's spiffy. [UConn]

• Interesting piece on contraction by Mike Chen: "The only reasonable argument for contraction is because the economics of the league can't support 30 teams, not because of talent. However, history has shown us time and again that teams can be successful in non-traditional locations if they've got strong ownership, they're managed well, they're coached well, and they draft well." [Chen]

• Elliotte Friedman on the Allan Walsh/Canadiens goaltending Twitter flap. [CBC Sports]

• Speaking of Twitter, the big news from the weekend. [@wyshynski]

• Finally, via FanHouse, the Max Talbot(notes) Superstar commercial series continues to amuse and bewilder:

Preview: Detroit Red Wings at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. EST. Looking for their fourth straight win, the Red Wings head into tonight's Hall of Fame Game. Three former Red Wings, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille will be in attendance along with Brian Leetch and Lou Lamoriello for the pre-game ceremony. It'll be game No. 3 in the Phil Kessel(notes)-era for the Leafs who may see Jonas Gustavsson(notes) in goal for a third straight game.

Preview: New York Rangers at Calgary Flames, 10 p.m. EST. No Henrik Lundqvist tonight for the Rangers as Sean Avery(notes) and Dion Phaneuf(notes) meet on the ice for the first time since "those" comments. Avery even admitted that he called Elisha Cuthbert after the comments to apologize for them. Calgary looks for their first home win in three games before an east coast trip next week.

Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. EST. Despite losing their undefeated road record after falling to Los Angeles on Thursday night, the Penguins enter HP Pavilion tonight wanting to end their west coast trip by taking four out of six points. Joe Pavelski(notes) is expected to return for the Sharks tonigh, who are undefeated against the defending Stanley Cup champions at home over their past eight match-ups.

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

Evening Reading

-Scotty Wazz on defending those Montreal Canadiens barber pole jerseys: "If you want to talk about the whole retro movement when it comes to the culture of sports-- fact of the matter is that nothing says more retro than the barber-pole jersey when it comes to hockey." [Wazz]

-Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek(notes) is done for the year after tearing an ACL. [Point Blank]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: The half dozen commenters who were unaware that the Clint Malarchuk injury didn't take place in the years between 2000 and 2009.

Bold Prediction: Nothing happens between Sean Avery and Dion Phaneuf. Also, Detroit slays the "Monster" in a rout.

For the 2009-10 season so far, these were the numbers crunched:

Top 15 teams in power-play conversion percentage: 120-77-27

Bottom 15 teams in power-play conversion percentage: 98-85-29

For the killers, it went like this:

Top 15 teams in penalty-killing conversion percentage: 121-76-17

Bottom 15 teams in penalty-killing conversion percentage: 97-86-39

It isn't exactly "BREAKING NEWS! MUST CREDIT PUCK DADDY" that teams that are really, really good on the power play and the kill win more games, on average, than teams in the lower part of the special teams rankings. There are always anomalies -- the Pittsburgh Penguins (12-4-0) are 22nd in the NHL on the power play, while the Toronto Maple Leafs (1-7-5) are second -- but it's common sense that this is going to be the trend annually.

The interesting number, at least to me, are the 39 overtime losses (hence, charity points) for the lower half of the League's penalty killers.

One theory was that these teams with lousy penalty killers are blowing leads in the final 20 minutes and then eventually losing in OT, as the momentum shifts to their opponents. Here's a comparison between the teams with the most overtime losses after leading for two periods, and the bottom 15 killers heading into tonight's games, via NHL.com:

Seven of the 12 teams that have lost in OT after leading after two periods are also among the NHL's worst penalty killers. Coincidence?!

Yeah, probably. NHL.com doesn't break down its special teams stats by the period, so it's difficult to figure out whether these teams are giving up late leads via pathetic penalty killing, or losing in OT on the dreaded 4-on-3 kill.

Again, I'm sure there are stat-heads out there that can read something into how the best killers have 24 more wins than the bottom 15, and how the bottom 15 have 22 more charity points than the top 15. (Or whether any of this trends annually.)

That is, something beyond the fact that mediocrity breeds mediocrity, and that some hockey teams that are totally deficient in some key areas are being propped up by charity points. All due respect to Marc Crawford, but his Dallas Stars are second-to-last on the kill (74.5 percent), 1-6 in overtime and yet they're eighth overall in the Western Conference. Where would they be if losses were, you know, losses?

• 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]

The Royal Half reports that some enterprising Los Angeles Kings fan decided to once again turn the porcelain spotlight on Sidney Crosby(notes) during last night's 5-2 Kings victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins:

Allusion to diving? Check. Infant iconography? Check. We're always amazed at the level of intense thought that goes into something as frivolous as this; the notion that this guy and D.C.'s infamous propagator of "Pee-Pics" actually take the time to laminate their creations is as laudable as it is disturbing.

(This bicoastal work couldn't be from the same steady hand, could it? Jokes about diving and crying just seem beneath the comic genius that gave the world "I'm Thirsty" at a Washington Capitals home game.)

We're probably not alone in saying that Crosby's performance in the playoffs last season impressed the hell out of us, not only from a numbers perspective but with his toughness in going to the net. Despite that, the mold for mockery has been cast for NHL fans and old memes die hard; perhaps that's why some in the Pittsburgh media are calling for a rebranding of Crosby's nickname.

He may have been golden last night in LA, but he gave Penguins fans the silver last summer -- as The Royal Half was reminded after the Kings' win:

As we exited the Staples Center he said to us... "it's not like the Penguins aren't going to make the playoffs." And as we stood on a street corner with Pens fans, decked out in Penguin wear, a car drove by and said "Screw Pittsburgh!" When I repeated what the car had screamed out... one of the Pens fans looked at me and said "I couldn't hear him because our Stanley Cup rings are clogging my ears." I smiled at the dude and had the horrible pangs of jealousy fill my body. Goddamn I hope I can use that line one day.

Hey, stealing jokes from Patrick Roy isn't a sign of greatness. Finding Anze Kopitar's(notes) face circling a urinal drain ... now that's when you've arrived.

 

(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.)

It's been an exciting and confusing 10 years for NHL fashion, and not just because hockey fans' Jersey Fouls have become the subject of academic discourse on blogs.

First, the NHL welcomed three expansion franchises with their own distinct looks: The Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2000), the Columbus Blue Jackets (2000-01) and the Minnesota Wild (2000-01). Two of those franchises are represented in the lists below.

In 2007, the Reebok EDGE Uniform System revolutionized the hockey sweater with a sleeker design, less water retention and more flexibility. They've continued to evolve, although not to the point where the hideous piping seen on jerseys like those of the Florida Panthers has been phased out.

The introduction of the RBK Edge sweaters caused a momentary interruption in the League's third jersey program, but it was back in full force later in the decade with a slew of "retro" and "heritage" jerseys. Among the best: The Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders dipping back into the 1980s; and the Winter Classic sweaters of the Penguins and the Blackhawks.

There were plenty of hits ... and while none of them reached the pinnacle of awful that was the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Wild Wing jersey from the 1990s, there were plenty of misses, too.

Here are the 5 Best, followed by the 5 Worst, NHL Jerseys of the Last Decade. Please suggest your own, or debate our picks, in the comments.

First, a disclaimer: The jerseys had to debut during the 2000s, and there was more weight given to reinvention than recollection. In other words, we were most interested in teams that went in bold new directions rather than ones that slapped a commemorative patch on a previously worn sweater - with one obvious exception.

The 5 Best NHL Jerseys of the 2000s are as follows:

5. Edmonton Oilers

Designed by "Spawn" creator, comic book artist and then-part-owner of the Oilers Todd McFarlane, these jerseys were like a modern remake of a classic film that dazzles critics but alienates some audiences. McFarlane's Web site explained his artistic vision in 2001, when the sweaters debuted:

Though the new logo is bold, dynamic and industrially modern, it's rooted in respect for the traditions of hockey's past. The new design's key element - the oil drop - is taken from the original Oilers logo. The five rivets encircling the oil drop represent the five Stanley Cups the team has won since its 1979 National Hockey League debut. The 10 gear teeth (five each on both the inner and outer rings) represent each of the Oilers' 10 team captains, who include such legends as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

It was bold, and perhaps too bold: By the end of the decade, the Oilers had course-corrected back to the classic orange and blue of the 1980s championship teams as a third jersey. If anything, the color scheme was more impressive than McFarlane's logo design, which looked sharp but not necessarily iconic. 

4. Washington Capitals

Like the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier in the decade, the Washington Capitals upgraded a classic look after entering the 2000s with a pedestrian group of sweaters. The piping, the alternative logo and the colors all worked, helping to spark a "Rock The Red" campaign the fans embraced ... even if the white jerseys look ridiculously better than the home reds.

3. NHL All-Star Game Jerseys, 2003

These sweaters from the game held in Sunrise, Fla. are a reminder that simplicity is never a bad thing. The first all-star game since 1997 to feature the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference, the jerseys had some really sharp features: Numbers on the waistline; team logos and country of origin flags on the shoulders; and an NHL logo on the front that would resemble the "NHL 2.0" logo the League adopted after the lockout.

2. St. Louis Blues

For a franchise that once created a third jersey so wretched that Mike Keenan banned the team from wearing it, this 2008 model was widely celebrated as one of the most well-conceived and aesthetically pleasing alternate sweaters in recent NHL history. It incorporated the iconography of the St. Louis Gateway Arch while still prominently displaying the Blue Note logo. Solid stuff ... if not exactly original. Which brings us to:

1. Minnesota Wild

The Wild's initial jerseys were striking, especially the all-green look of their solid sweaters. But this third jersey that debuted in 2003-04 remains perhaps the most successful in League history in concept and execution. The colors are spot-on, the design is iconic and it was eventually adopted by the team as its home jersey later in the decade. Often imitated, never duplicated.

Speaking of never duplicated, let's home none of these ever are: The 5 Worst Jerseys of the 2000s.

5. Atlanta Thrashers

A random quilt-like patchwork surrounding a giant number where a logo should be, these 2008 third jerseys were quickly reviled by fans around the League. Our initial take stands:

The font on the front of the jersey is still pretty snappy, but its quirky design emphasizes the "T" and "R" while de-emphasizing the "H" in "Thrashers"; the result is a subtle and unfortunate optical trick that pushes the eye to see "Trashers."

Please keep in mind these maroon and gold jerseys debuted while Atlanta was attempting to establish "Blueland" as a marketing rallying cry for fans in their arena.

4. NHL All-Star Game, 2000-2001

An unbalanced, unsightly design whiff that looked like the template for a better jersey. The colors are OK, but it's a completely forgettable jersey for a game whose threads are made for collectors. Five-year-old Colorado Avalanche fan Brandon Barban, moments after this photo was taken: "Your jerseys suck. Oh, and nice hair, Sakic ..."

3. Buffalo Sabres

An angry cashew. Donald Trump's hair. A possessed chipmunk. The Sabres' 2006 decision to completely revamp their uniforms for the second time in 10 years was met with widespread anger, universal scorn and inexplicably high merchandise sales (go figure). Sabres fans continue to fight the good fight against the "Buffaslug," including the blog Sabres, Not Slugs that is "dedicated to eliminating one of the worst logos on professional sports."

2. Dallas Stars

When these third jerseys debuted in 2003, the Stars offered the following justification for the look:

"The new logo depicts a constellation of individual stars aligning to form an unstoppable force of nature, a charging bull. Get it? A constellation of stars aligning to form an unstoppable force? "

That celestial reasoning did nothing for most Stars fans, whose intense loathing the of jerseys was immediate.

But the reason they're the second-worst jersey of the last decade is simple: It's because at no point during the market research for this new sweater did the Stars realize their logo was a diagram of the female reproductive organs, from the uterus to the fallopian tubes. Needless to say, the fans did.

In Men's Vogue, Sean Avery(notes) labeled these as the worst hockey jerseys of all time. Let it never be said the man doesn't know his fashion. 

1. Montreal Canadiens

If you don't believe these are the worst jerseys of the last decade, you're either under the influence of hallucinogens or a professional barber.

Worn as part of the Habs' centennial celebration, these throwbacks to the 1912-1913 team from the National Hockey Association were reintroduced last season and the laughter was deafening. Based on the fan reaction, they should have put the words "Epic Fail" inside of the leaf on the front.

(Oh, and the Habs rocking a sweater with a Maple Leaf on the front is a fail, in and of itself.)

We offered a meek defense after their debut:

Sure, they look like men's beachwear from the 1800s. Yes, they less resemble a hockey sweater than something you'd lick in the Wonka factory. But forget, for a moment, that the Canadiens already have an iconic sweater they wear every game -- pretend this was the only jersey they skate out in. Isn't this look even a little bit awesome? Wouldn't this be just as iconic? Or is it better left in an era without the benefit of digital television?

The masses agreed with that last statement. In a decade when old looks became hip new ones for many teams, this monstrosity deserved to be buried in the past. 

Dishonorable Mention: The Nashville Predators' third jerseys and at least half of what the Vancouver Canucks wore in the last 10 years. Thanks to NHL Uniforms for the trips down memory lane.

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.)

• 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:

No. 1 star: Chris Osgood(notes),