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Well my friends, Hockey Day in Canada 2008 has come to an official end. We saw a great game to kick it off as Toronto battled back at home to beat the Detroit Red Wings in overtime. Montreal fell victim to the Spezza-Heatley-Alfredsson line. The first time in 13 games that the trio has been together and all they did was combine for 6 goals and 9 assists. Ottawa downed Montreal 6-1. In the third game between Calgary and Edmonton, Calgary avenged a loss earlier this week to Edmonton as Nolan scored two goals and the Flames won 4-1. The final game saw the old Quebec Nordiques, now the Colorado Avalanche, skate out of Vancouver with a 6-2 win as Svatos and Hejduk netted two goals a piece.
This weekend was also a celebration of history that was made 32 years ago. Daryl Sittler broke and set a record which still stands today, 10 points in one NHL game. It was a great feat that may take years to be broken, if at all.
Oh, and if you’re a diehard NFL fan, or not, please read this. Jon Buccigross has 10 reasons why you guys should become puckheads!
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are now 5-2-2 without Sidney Crosby as Malkin has 7 goals and 10 assists during the time. He has also recorded 4 consecutive multipoint games. Crosby skated four times last week, but he still will not even be reevaluated for another two weeks.
The Canadiens signed University of Denver star Brock Trotter to a three-year deal.
Tocchet returns to the Coyotes bench for the first time since before the gambling escapade.
Trades…
February 8th DET gets F Francis Lemieux MTL gets F Brett Engelhardt
February 7th SJS gets D Justin Forrest CAR gets future considerations
Now for the rankings…
30. Tampa Bay Lightning 23-27-6: Last week: 2-0-1; Unfortunately, winning two games this week moves them up zero spots because the other teams did the same.
29. Toronto Maple Leafs 23-25-9: Last week: 2-1; What a week, giving up 8 goals at home to FLA, the beating MTL and DET in back to back games.
28. Los Angeles Kings 23-31-3: Last week: 2-1; The biggest win of the year for the Kings may well be the 4 goal third period against Detroit to win 5-3.
27. Chicago Blackhawks(-4) 24-25-5: Last week: 1-1; with a 1-4-1 in the last six games, the Hawks have dropped to 15th in the West.
26. New York Islanders(-5) 24-25-7: Last week: 0-2-1; With a loss to the Wild, the Islanders are now off to seven consecutive losses
25. Edmonton Oilers(+2) 25-27-5: Last week: 2-1; After scoring only a goal the week before, the Oilers burst out with 9 in two games before dropping one to CAL.
24. St. Louis Blues(-9) 24-22-7: Last week: 0-2; The Blues just keep losing, now three straight and 9 of 11.
23. Florida Panthers(+2) 26-26-5: Last week: 2-1; The high scoring Panthers netted 18 goals in three games. The only loss was a close one to Ottawa.
22. Buffalo Sabres(+4) 25-21-8: Last week: 2-0-1; The Sabres are right back into 9th place as they have gone 5-0-2 following the horrible losing streak.
21. Columbus Blue Jackets(+1) 26-23-8: Last week: 1-0-2; The switch to Norrena hasn’t help as the Blue Jackets have lost 3 of 4, however two were in OT, so they got a few points.
20. Washington Capitals(+4) 26-25-5: Last week: 2-1; The Capitals lost the biggest of the week to division rival Carolina, and no longer lead the Southeast.
19. Atlanta Thrashers(+1) 27-27-4: Last week: 1-2; After their 3 game win streak was snapped, they lost two straight but remain tied for the division lead.
18. Phoenix Coyotes(+1) 28-23-4: Last week: 1-1-1; The Coyotes have two big games against Dallas next week. Sitting in 10th place, a split or better is a must.
17. Nashville Predators(+1) 28-22-6: Last week: 1-1-1; They feeds off of the home crowd as they are 3rd best in the league on home ice. It’s on the road that needs to improve.
16. New York Rangers(+1) 28-24-6: Last week: 2-2; While they continue to hang around in the playoff hunt, they have played more games than most, so look for them to get leaped.
15. Carolina Hurricanes(+1) 27-27-4: Last week: 1-2; They may have taken the Caps down in Washington, but the lead is still 1 point and have played 2 more games than WSH.
14. Vancouver Canucks(-1) 27-22-7: Last week: 1-1-1; Finally winning a game, the Canucks are still 4th in the Northwest and out of a playoff spot.
13. Boston Bruins(-1) 27-20-5: Last week: 1-2; Have lost 3 of 4 game after beating Ottawa. The 3 losses at home, the win on the road.
12. Anaheim Ducks(+2) 30-22-7: Last week: 3-0; They won six, they lost six, and have won three more in a row. How about this time they don’t go on a losing streak?
11. Calgary Flames(-1) 28-20-8: Last week: 2-2; Losing two games to teams low in the standings, the Flames were bumped from the division lead.
10. Colorado Avalanche(+1) 30-21-5: Last week: 2-0-1; The Avalanche have picked up the play of recent, going 8-3-2.
9. Montreal Canadiens(-2) 29-18-9: Last week: 1-3; The only win was against Ottawa. That was without Heatley and Alfredsson. When those two returned, MTL lost 6-1.
8. New Jersey Devils(+1) 31-21-4: Last week: 2-1-1; Hanging in there for the division lead and scored six goals on consecutive Saturdays. Do it again, and it will be against OTT.
7. Philadelphia Flyers(+1) 30-19-5: Last week: 1-2; Dropping two games at home has allowed PIT to move into first in the division, who they play Sunday.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins 31-19-5: Last week: 2-0-1; This team is 5-2-2 without Crosby as Malkin has really stepped up.
5. Minnesota Wild 31-20-4: Last week: 1-1-1; According to their coach, the Wild played the best game of the year against DET. Not a bad week figuring they played DAL too.
4. Ottawa Senators 34-18-4: Last week: 2-1; Heatley and Alfredsson are back…watch out!
3. San Jose Sharks(-1) 31-17-7: Last week: 2-1; After losing to the highflying Aves, they Sharks won two straight.
2. Dallas Stars(+1) 34-20-5: Last week: 3-0; Now on a 6-game win streak, the Stars are the 2nd hottest team in the NHL, only to DET. They even have more points than OTT.
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