Division News- Southeast

Writer's note: Ok, so I've never written a blog before but this is my best shot for my first one...and I got all my information off of NHL.com on the team's respective pages so if you see any discrepancies with my information please let me know if it is incorrect! Thank you for your patience!! By the way, I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I am a massive Avalanche fan so excuse me if my blogs seem a little bias...



The Division as a Whole:

The southeastern division this season has been striving to keep up alongside the Atlantic and Northeast divisions, pulling in for a meager last place finish in the Eastern conference. The five teams that consist of the Southeast Division include: the Carolina Hurricanes, the Atlanta Thrashers, the Florida Panthers, and the Washington Capitals. With the Hurricanes at 21-19-4, the Thrashers at 21-21-1, the Panthers at 19-20-3, the Capitals at 17-20-5, and trailing in at last in the Division, the Lightnings15-22-5.


Carolina Hurricanes:
The Hurricanes are heading into the second half of the season in first place among the Southeast Division, are holding it steady with 21 games won. A re-assignment conducted by Jim Rutherford was announced on January 4, as the team assigned goaltender John Grahame to its top minor-league affiliate, the Albany River Rats. However, a significant recall was enacted as well when Michael Leighton, Keith Aucoin, and Brandon Nolan from Albany River Rats were recalled on January 3. Top Skater: Whitney at 20 goals, 23 assists.


Upcoming Games:
Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins: Tuesday 1/8
New Jersey Devils @Carolina Hurricanes: Thursday 1/10
Colorado Avalanche @ Hurricanes: Saturday 1/12 ~the avalanche will dominate this game~


Atlanta Thrashers:
The Thrashers, now tied with game wins of the Carolina Hurricanes, have been experiencing a season full of “musical goalies” if you will. Both Lehtonen and Dunham have struggled with playing injuries and during Lehtonen’s absence it has contributed to a key factor directly related to Atlanta’s struggles. The amount of goalie change, just in the first half of this season alone have been difficult for the team to establish any real reliable goaltender. However, despite this handicap the team has preformed rather well overall in the Southeastern division at second. The Thrashers have also made a recent recall for forward Kevin Doell from Chicago. Top Skater: Kivalchuk at 34 goals and 25 assists.


Upcoming Games:
Philadelphia Flyers @ Atlanta Thrashers: Tuesday 1/8
Florida Panthers @ Atlanta Thrashers: Thursday 1/10
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Atlanta Thrashers: Saturday 1/12


Florida Panthers:
Having shortly returned from their road trip, which turned out worse than anticipated, the Panthers are desperately trying to bounce back in their upcoming Penguin game. Center Stephen Weiss elaborates: “the road trip wasn’t great…it’s important to bounce back and have a good game against Pittsburgh.” On January 4 it was announced that Jacques Martin reassigned LW Tanner Glass to Rochester; yet another sign of player replacements but the Panthers are still holding in at a steady third place in their division.
Top skater: Jokinen at 20 goals and 21 assists.


Upcoming Games:
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Panthers: Tuesday 1/8
Panthers @ Thrashers: Thursday 1/10
Lightning @ Panthers: Saturday 1/12


Washington Capitals:
With the Washington Capitals lingering on the ice with a mere fourth place in the Souhtwestern division, they still have the means to step up with their top player: Ovechkin. Raking in with two goals on Saturday, Alex Ovechkin now has 32 in 42 games this season. In his rookie season of 2005-2006, he scored his 32nd goal of the season in his 44th game. This young player has the means of being a hockey star! Center Nicklas Backstrom, who lead all rookies with 14 points in 13 games as the Capitals posted their best month on a points percentage basis since February 2001, has been named NHL Rookie of the mont for December. Congratulations Nicklas! Top skater: Ovechkin at 32 goals and 20 assists.


Upcoming Games:
Avalanche @ Capitals Wednesday 1/9 ~the avalanche will dominate~


Tampa Bay Lightning:
A battle for consistency for the defenders of the Stanley Cup champions have suffered a seven game losing streak, which quickly put them behind in their division. The Tampa Bay Lightnings are seated fifth and last in their division, trailing solemnly behind at 15-22-5. After the Eastern Conference XM/ NHL All-Star Fan Balloting, Tampa Bay Center Lecavalier raked in 149, 067 votes! He may be cute…but he’ll have to settle for second place as Sidney Crosby took the crown at 381,941 votes! Top skater: Lecavalier 28 goals and 34 assists. They basically are worthless….but we all pretend to like them anyway.


Upcoming Games:
Tampa Bay Lightning @ New York Rangers: Tuesday 1/8
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning: Thursday 1/10
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Florida Panthers: Saturday 1/12

Northwest Division Post Game Report

Minnesota Wild-1
Dallas Stars-3

The Dallas Stars ended a 4-game skid with a victory against Minnesota Monday night. Marty Turco stopped 18 shots of 19, only allowing one goal. The Stars' power play didn't have much luck tonight, as they weren't able to get any points off of two 5-on-3's. The Minnesota Wild skated without Mikko Koivu (broken leg) and Derek Boogaard (back).


Winning goaltender: Marty Turco 18/19 shots
Losing goaltender: Niklas Backstrom 27/30 shots

Scoring Summary
1st Period:
None
2nd Period:

Dallas	5:50, Matt Niskanen 4 (Jeff Halpern, Steve Ott)
Minnesota	9:19, Mark Parrish 12 (Marian Gaborik, Kim Johnsson)
Dallas	11:06, Antti Miettinen 8 (Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribeiro)

3rd Period:
Dallas 2:11, Antti Miettinen 9 (Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow)


3 Stars:

1. Antti Miettinen
Dallas-RW
Goals: 2
Assists: 0
2. Brenden Morrow
Dallas-LW
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
3. Mike Ribeiro
Dallas-C
Goals: 0
Assists: 2


New York Islanders-0
Edmonton Oilers-4

Earning his third shutout of the season, Mathieu Garon made 35 saves against the New York Islanders. Now coming off two losses in the Northwest division, the Islanders move on to Vancouver where the Nucks are hot at home. It will be quite the battle for them. The Oilers' next game is at home against the Phoenix Coyotes who are on a 4-game winning streak.

Winning goaltender: Mathieu Garon 35/35 shots
Losing goaltender: Rick DiPietro

Scoring Summary
1st Period:
None
2nd Period:

Edmonton	1:11, Ales Hemsky 11 (Tom Gilbert, Joni Pitkanen)
Edmonton	6:31, Shawn Horcoff 18 (Ales Hemsky, Dustin Penner)
Edmonton	11:22, Marty Reasoner 5 (Jarret Stoll, Tom Gilbert)

3rd Period:
Edmonton 16:09, Jarret Stoll 6 (power play) (Shawn Horcoff, Dustin Penner)

3 Stars:

1. Ales Hemsky
Edmonton-RW
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
2. Mathieu Garon
Edmonton-G
Saves: 35
Save %: 1.000
3. Tom Gilbert
Edmonton-D
Goals: 0
Assists: 2

Islanders vs Oilers

My first entry! Hurray! Ok anyway, the Islanders are the only team playing tonight. They are playing Edmonton, so hopefully they win (although it doesn't really matter, because the Oilers are 7 points behind the Avs anyway). Out of their past four games, the Islanders have had two wins and two overtime losses (including one to the Avs...just had to mention that). With a win tonight, they could pull ahead of the Flyers and the Rangers to enter 3rd place in the Atlantic division. In net tonight for the Islanders is Dipietro (above), who is 16-13-4 on the season with 2.50 GAA and .911 Sv%.

Go Islanders! I'll cheer for anyone who's going up against an Avs division rival. Let's just hope little miss flip-the-bird isn't at the game tonight.

Division News-Northwest and Northeast Divisions

Northwest-

The Avalanche are having a tough break with their string of recent injuries, including beloved captain Joe Sakic, having won only one game of their last five. They will have to get their forwards to produce more points if they're going to see any success. They ended their 4-game losing streak with a 2-1 win in overtime against the New York Islanders. Although they gained a well earned 2 points, their power play has dropped to 0-for-16. Their next game is January 8th against the Red Wings in Detroit. On the road the Avs are 6-10-3 and have a chance to improve to 11-10-3 if they have a perfect road trip this week with 5 away games ahead of them. Can the struggling Avalanche team not only improve their road record, but also improve on their place in the Northwest division without their 2 main men Joe Sakic and Ryan Symth?

The New York Rangers have become Luo's 6th shutout victim at GM Place. Vancouver is deadly at home and are now 11-0-2 in their last 13 games there. Their next game is at home against the New York Islanders who are stuck in back-to-back games and play the 7th at Edmonton.

The Edmonton Oilers may be last in points in the Northwest division but they are inching closer to an NHL record: shootout wins. One more win in a SO and they will tie the Dallas Stars for their mark set in the 2005-2006 season. Edmonton's next game is the 7th at home against the New York Islanders who are coming off a 2-1 OT loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Jarome Iginla is on a scoring streak. The Flames are coming off their 5th straight victory and Iginla is part of that reason. He, along with Huselius and Kiprusoff are playing great. The Flames' next game is against Phoenix at home.

The Wild battle the Stars tonight in Dallas and hope to extend the Stars' losing streak. They have won three of their last five games. In 14 of their last 15 losses, the Wild has been held to 2 or less goals.

Games This Week:
1/7 Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars
1/7 New York Islanders @ Edmonton Oilers
1/8 Colorado Avalanche @ Detroit Red Wings
1/8 Phoenix Coyotes @ Calgary Flames
1/8 New York Islanders @ Vancouver Canucks
1/9 Colorado Avalanche @ Washington Capitals
1/10 Minnesota Wild @ Detroit Red Wings
1/10 Phoenix Coyotes @ Edmonton Oilers
1/10 Vancouver Canucks @ San Jose Sharks
1/11 Minnesota Wild @ Chicago Blackhawks
1/11 New York Islanders @ Calgary Flames
1/11 Phoenix Coyotes @ Vancouver Canucks
1/12 Colorado Avalanche @ Carolina Hurricanes
1/13 Colorado Avalanche @ Florida Panthers
1/13 Vancouver Canucks @ St. Louis Blues
1/13 Phoenix Coyotes @ Minnesota Wild
1/13 Calgary Flames @ Edmonton Oilers*

*-interdivisional game

Northwest Division Standings
1. Calgary Flames (22-14-7) 51 points
2. Vancouver Canucks (23-14-4) 50 points
3. Minnesota Wild (23-16-2) 48 points
4. Colorado Avalanche (22-16-3) 47 points
5. Edmonton Oilers (18-21-4) 40 points

Northeast-
After a well fought battle against Atlanta, the Buffalo Sabres are still slumping, having lost 6 in a row. They are now 19-18-3. "We just have to get back in sync with each other, and we'll be all right," states Ryan Miller, Buffalo's goaltender. Can the defending Presidents Trophy winners come back with a win in their next game on the 8th at New Jersey? Let's hope so.

With one of their star goaltenders, Vesa Toskala, out, and also numerous others, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to take it up a notch. Toronto is 13-11-4 with Toskala in goal, and 3-7-4 without him. They lost their last game 3-2 to Philadelphia. Their next game is January 9th against the Anaheim Ducks. It will be their first California road trip since November 2003.

The Montréal Canadiens suffered an OT loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday. The Habs fell to 7-7-5 at the Bell Centre. Their next game is against Chicago at home on Tuesday.

After donning a Team Canada jersey at practice Monday, Daniel Alfredsson and the rest of the Ottawa Senators gear up for a game against Buffalo at home on Thursday. Buffalo hopes to end their 6-game losing slump at New Jersey on Tuesday and can hopefully bring themselves some luck in Scotiabank Place. The Senators, on the other hand, hope that the Sabres can wait to rid themselves of a slump until after they've visited them.

The Boston Bruins beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in their last game and hope to continue this 3-game win streak when they play the Hurricanes at home on Tuesday.

Games This Week:
1/8 Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins
1/8 Buffalo Sabres @ New Jersey Devils
1/8 Chicago Blackhawks @ Montréal Canadiens
1/9 Toronto Maple Leafs @ Anaheim Ducks
1/10 Buffalo Sabres @ Ottawa Senators *
1/10 Montréal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins *
1/10 Toronto Maple Leafs @ Edmonton Oilers
1/12 Boston Bruins @ Philadelphia Flyers
1/12 New Jersey Devils @ Buffalo Sabres
1/12 Detroit Red Wings @ Ottawa Senators
1/12 Montréal Canadiens @ New York Rangers
1/12 Toronto Maple Leafs @ San Jose Sharks
1/13 New York Islanders @ Ottawa Senators

Northeast Division Standings:
1. Ottawa Senators (27-10-4) 58 points
2. Montréal Canadiens (20-13-8) 48 points
3. Boston Bruins (21-16-4) 46 points
4. Buffalo Sabres (19-18-3) 41 points
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (16-18-8) 40 points

Northwest/Northeast IR Report:
Boston-Patrice Bergeron, Glen Murray, Andrew Alberts, Aaron Ward, Manny Fernandez
Buffalo-Maxim Afinogenov (Groin, DTD), Teppo Numminen (Heart)
Calgary-David Moss
Colorado-Tyler Arnason, Joe Sakic (Hernia), Ryan Smyth (Fractured Ankle), Kurt Sauer
Edmonton-Matt Greene (Fractured fibula), Raffi Torres (Torn ACL, out for season)
Minnesota-Mikko Koivu (Leg), Derek Boogaard
Montréal-Steve Bégin, Bryan Smolinski
Ottawa-Patrick Eaves
Toronto-Bryan McCabe, Vesa Toskala (Groin)
Vancouver-Jeff Cowan, Brendan Morrison, Kevin Bieksa

Division Clips - Central and Pacific Divisions

Central-
Only Nashville is in action tonight, taking on the Ducks in Anaheim. A win would push the streaking Predators to a season-high four games. The win would also bring Nashville even with Columbus for third place in the division and two points out of the playoff picture. Nashville is .800 or above when leading at the end of a period (.800 first, .933 second) but is struggling coming back from a deficit. A quick Predators start should keep Anaheim running, but two or three goals may sink the Ducks. With the conference tightly packed, every game matters.
Tomorrow, the whole division takes to the ice. Nashville moves on to L.A., Detroit faces the rival Avalanche at home, Chicago travels to Montreal, and Columbus heads south for a division match-up in St. Louis. With four points seperating second from fifth as of this morning, this divisional game will be key. With a win, Columbus would leap ahead of St. Louis by a point, into second, but St. Louis would start to distance themselves from the rest of the division. Star Columbus goaltender, Pascal Leclaire left the Blue Jackets' last game due to illness and is not available in St. Louis. The Blue Jackets added emergency recall Steve Mason to their roster. Mason was tournament MVP at the World Juniors Championship this past week.

Pacific-
The defending Stanley Cup champs face the Nashville Predators on home ice. The series has been split between the two teams thus far this season. The Ducks are 2-3 in their last five games and are returning home after a 3-2 loss in Phoenix. This team is point hungry following the return of Niedermayer and has been climbing the standings. A win would put the Ducks in a tie for fourth place in the conference and second in the division.
Also on ice tonight are the Stars. This team's run has come to dead stop recently, losing a first place lead in the division to the San Jose Sharks. Dallas faces their longest losing streak in four years. Beating the Minnesota Wild, strong with the play of Marion Gaborik, is essential to keeping the Stars in the hunt for first place in the division. Scoring for the Stars needs to start with the power play, which has all but vanished in recent games. The Stars lost four days ago to Minnesota 6-3 on the road. This game will be a struggle but if Dallas goaltending rises to the challenge, the Stars may be able to regain a first place slot (albeit tied with San Jose).
Tomorrow, Phoenix and L.A. are in action. Phoenix heads north to Northwest Division leader, Calgary. And L.A. sits at home against the Nashville Predators. L.A., still bottom-dwellers in the League, will be in last place no matter what the outcome of this game. I cannot see this team pulling it out of the sewer to make the playoffs.

Other News-





St. Louis goaltender Manny Legacy lead the NHL's Three Stars this week with two shutouts in three appearances.

Detroit's Chris Osgood leads the league in save percentage and goals against average.
San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov still leads the league in wins with 23.
Detroit's Nick Lidstrom leads the league in season +/- ratings.

IR Reports-
Anaheim- Brad May, Samuel Pahlsson
Chicago- Kevyn Adams, Dave Bolland, Ben Eager, Jonathan Toews, Jason Williams, Brent Sopel, James Wisniewski
Columbus- Fredrik Modin, David Vyborny
Dallas- Jere Lehtinen, Phillipe Boucher
Detroit- (As of December, 22...) Henrik Zetterberg (day-to-day, back spasms), Tomas Holmstrom (day-to-day, right knee), Kirk Maltby (day-to-day, lower back)
Los Angeles- None
Nashville- Shea Weber
Phoenix- Daniel Carcillo, Shane Doan (day-to-day, hand, as of January 3)
San Jose- Ryane Clowe, Brad Norton, Alexei Semenov
St. Louis- Martin Rucinsky

Broadstreet Bullies

Give it up, Philly: the days of the Broadstreet Bullies are long over thanks to the NHL's "improved" discouragement of illegal hits and misconduct and more frequent suspension reviews for hits. I respect a team trying to play a more physical game, but enough is enough.
When a team draws repeated suspensions action has to be taken. You'd think the suspensions and the fines would be enough to discourage this sort of thing but apparently not. Steve Downie faces suspension after "sucker-punching" Jason Blake (who was restrained by an official at the time) in his fourth NHL game after serving a 20-game suspension for his hit on Dean McAmmond in a preseason game.
We need to concider alternate suspensions. Sitting the coach for a few games, for example. They're just as responsible for the players' actions by not making it clear that this type of conduct will not be tolerated.
Repeat offenders, such as the Islander's Chris Simon, need to face increasingly longer suspensions despite the intensity of the infraction. Any player drawing three suspensions in a season or calendar year should be suspended for the remainder of the season (or calendar year, if that's the rule). Kind of like the three strikes and you're out rule in law.
No matter what the final decision, if this type of conduct continues, especially in Philadelphia, the league needs to seriously reevaluate the discipline program. Cheap shots and serious injuries from bad hits are why hockey has gotten a bad name.

[Addition: January 7, 2008- 6:33 PM]
Steve Downie Escapes
NHL.com article via Canadian Press
Since when is punching a guy with his hands behind his back not a suspendible offense? Steve Downie got lucky on this one.

"I took a penalty that hurt the team and I can't do that," Downie told the Inquirer, admitting he has again been put on notice by the league. "There's a fine line you've got to follow and I crossed it again. I got to learn."

At least he recognizes that he's done something wrong. Still, NHL players have been in the game since childhood...when did Downie learn that this was acceptable behaviour? Still, the use of improper grammar makes me think Downie isn't the sharpest pencil in the cup. Let's hope that's a grave misprint.
I have to give the League some credit. If Downie is aware his actions are being monitored he may shy away from that "fine line."

[Addition: January 7, 2008- 12:22 PM]
More Flyers Drama
So, I finally saw video from the Philly/Jersey game. No matter what Darien Hatcher says, Travis Zajac did not swipe him. Zajac may have taken a swing, but the glove left in Hatcher's mouth attests to the claim of a bite. Plus, I have a hard time believing Zajac could cut himself (bad enough to require stitches) through the gloves, as Hatcher claims. Anyone up for a game of "Guess the Suspension?"

Welcome!

Welcome to Through The Crease!
We will strive to provide our opinions of topics around the National Hockey League. A weekly report and "game-of-the-week" coverage for each conference is planned, as well as commentary on all issues hockey. We hope you enjoy our somewhat off-beat interpretation.

-Rhys Sakic and the TTC Staff