The NHL Minute - 30 October

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2mins Player of the day:

• Tobias Stephan (G - Stars) earns our player of the day for his win over the Minnesota Wild.  Stephan played in only his 2nd ever NHL game.   His last game, almost a year ago was on the road in Chicago, a game where he played solid but lost the game in overtime.  A year is a long time to wait to prove you can play at this level, but Stephan did that today. 

Stars of the day:

• Teemu Selanne (Ducks), got his game on with a hat trick against the Detroit Red Wings
• Tobias Stephan (Stars) made his NHL debut for 2008 with a 4-2 win over the Wild
• Ryan Getzlaf (Ducks) had 5 assists in the Ducks win over the Red Wings
• Matt Stajan (Maple Leafs) scored 2 goals in the Leafs shootout win over the Devils
• Pavel Datsyuk (Red Wings) scored a pair against the Ducks

…and there were none:

• Going into todays game the Wild had no suffered a regulation loss this season, the only team remaining to do so.  Tobias Stephan and the Stars put and end to that with a solid 4-2 win over the travelling team.

Demoted:

• Jordan Staal has been demoted to the third line during Wednesday’s Penguins practice.

Trade Deadline moved:

• The NHL has announced that the Trade Deadline will be moved back to March 4.  The change has been approved by both the NHL and the NHLPA.

oh, they’re hurt:

• Sergei Zubov (Stars) should be back in the Stars lineup this Saturday.
• Randy Jones (Flyers) could resume skating in 2 weeks and should be back on the team before Christmas.
• Jere Lehtinen (Stars) is rumored to begin skating again soon.
• Tim Connolly (Sabres) is unlikely to play this weekend with a back injury.
• Pascal Leclaire (Blue Jackets) is looking at a second opinion after his MRI revealed just a sprained ankle.
• Bryan McCabe (Panthers) began skating on his own Monday.
• Rick DiPietro (Islanders) will not be on the upcoming road trip.

He shoots… the scores:

• Toronto Maple Leafs 6 - 5 New Jersey Devils (shootout)
• Dallas Stars 4 - 2 Minnesota Wild
• Anaheim Ducks 5 - 4 Detroit Red Wings (overtime)

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Around the NHL - 27 Oct

30 Teams Play in 1 day - the stats

Ross McKeon of Yahoo! Sports has a fantastic article today in which he breaks down October 26, the 2nd day in NHL history were all 30 teams played in the same day.  Accoring to McKeon, on October 26…

• The home team earned two points in nine games, the visitors snatched a pair of points in six. Five of the 15 games needed more than 60 minutes to decide as two ended in sudden death and three required a shootout.

• Philadelphia’s Jeff Carter at 3:44 and Washington’s Alexander Semin at 2:17, both even-strength goals, accounted for the winners in sudden death.
• Fredrik Sjostrom of the Rangers, Ryan Smyth of the Avalanche and Marian Hossa of the Red Wings scored the deciding goals in shootouts. Henrik Lundqvist, Peter Budaj and Ty Conklin were the winning goalies. In all, shooters went 9-for-24 in the shootouts.
• A total of 96 goals were scored in regulation and overtime of the 15 games. Three goals came short-handed (Anaheim’s Travis Moen, Ottawa’s Dean McAmmond and Sean Bergenheim of the Islanders) and one filled an empty net (Jarome Iginla).
• Ten of the 15 games were decided by one goal. Four goals was the largest margin of victory (St. Louis 4-0 over Florida).
• The power play was very good across the board. Teams combined to covert 30 of 127 chances for 23.6 percent, well above the league average. Vancouver cashed in most, going 4-for-6. The Islanders had the most power-play chances, but went just 1-for-8.
• A total of 460 penalty minutes were assessed of which 120 minutes accounted for the 12 fights. New Jersey and Philadelphia, division rivals meeting for the second time in as many days, featured the most bouts with four. The Devils and Flyers accrued the most combined minutes (80) while the Blue Jackets-Wild and Sabres-Avalanche combined for the least (12 each game).
• There were a combined 984 shots on goal during regulation and overtime. Carolina’s Cam Ward faced the most. He stopped 57 of the New York Islanders’ franchise-record 60. Florida managed the fewest, only 17 on the road in St. Louis. Five teams replaced their starting goalies because of either injury or ineffectiveness including Montreal, Los Angeles, Columbus, St. Louis and the New York Islanders. Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec led the world with 13 shots (three others were judged to be missed shots). Bill Guerin of the Islanders was in double figures, too, with 10 shots.
• There were a grand total of 872 faceoffs. Detroit and Chicago visited the circle the most (82) while San Jose and Tampa combined for the least draws (46). Boston’s Marc Savard (14-4), Vancouver’s Ryan Kessler (16-6), Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour (15-5) and Washington’s Boyd Gordon (13-4) had strong nights on faceoffs while Phoenix’s Olli Jokinen (4-13), Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf (4-15) and Edmonton’s Shawn Horcoff (9-18) struggled.
• Teams extended winning streaks (Colorado to five in a row, Detroit to four, Anaheim and Calgary to three and Philadelphia to two) and extended losing streaks (Islanders to three in a row) and had streaks snapped (Montreal had won five in a row, Pittsburgh had won two straight and Washington had lost three in a row).
• The 15 games drew nine capacity crowds. The United Center in Chicago housed the biggest showing, a franchise-record 22,690 to see the 698th all-time meeting between the rival Red Wings and Blackhawks. The smallest crowd was an announced 11,219 gathering at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island for the Hurricanes and Islanders. A total of 267,729 attended the 15 games for an average of 17,849 per contest.
• The biggest minute-muncher on Saturday was Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom with 32:01 of ice time. Buffalo’s young defenseman Andrej Sekera was the only other skater in the league to log more than 30 minutes (30:44). Philadelphia’s Riley Cote (1:34) and New Jersey’s Mike Rupp (1:44) saw the least amount of ice time.
• Of miscellaneous note, Calgary traveled the most miles (1,600 from Nashville to Glendale, Ariz.) while New Jersey traveled the least (less than 100 miles to Philly). … The 30 bench bosses combined for more than 180 seasons of NHL head coaching experience. … Tampa Bay’s Gary Roberts (42 years, five months, two days) was the oldest player performing and Atlanta’s Zach Bogosian (18 years, three months, 10 days) was the youngest.

Injury Updates:

• Islanders G DiPietro questionable Vs Rangers
  New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro will see a doctor on Monday for an undisclosed injury and is questionable to play that night against the New York Rangers.

• Red Wings LW Franzen out 3-4 weeks
  Red Wings forward Johan Franzen will be out for three to four weeks because of a sprained left knee, the team said Sunday.
• Blues G Bishop injured Vs Panthers
  St. Louis Blues goaltender Ben Bishop left Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers in the third period with a lower body injury and did not return.  Bishop made 12 saves without yielding a goal before being replaced by Marek Schwarz, who was recalled from Peoria of the American Hockey League earlier in the day.
• Blue Jackets G Leclaire suffers ankle injury
  Leclaire left Saturday’s game 5:24 into the second period with an ankle injury, the Associated Press reports.
• Joni Pitkanen: Leg Injury
  Pitkanen sustained a leg injury late in the second period of Saturday’s
  game against the Islanders, and did not return to action.

• Maple Leafs Jeff Finger back in action
  Finger (foot) made his regular-season debut with the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
• Hurricanes C Sutter leaves hospital after concussion
  Carolina Hurricanes center Brandon Sutter left a Long Island hospital on Sunday after suffering a concussion during Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders.

Game Results:

• No games were played today.

Source: Yahoo! Sports | TSN.ca | ESPN | NHL.com

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Around the NHL - Thurs 9 Oct

Injury Updates:

• Pascal Leclaire: Ready to go
  Leclaire (ankle) returned to practice Tuesday and declared himself ready for the season opener, the Columbus Dispatch reports. (Yahoo! Sports)

League Updates:

• Hockey great Bobby Orr revisits pain of many knee surgeries in new TV ad
  It’s hard not to wince watching Bobby Orr’s latest TV commercial, which highlights the many scars on his knees from the injuries that shortened his Hall of Fame hockey career.  “When I first saw it, I thought ‘I’m not going to be a leg model,”’ the former Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks superstar joked in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “I asked my wife what she thought and she was choked up.  “There were some tough times, but there were good times, too.” (Yahoo! Sports)

Signings, Transactions & Acquisitions:

• Penguins send LW Pesonen, G Curry to minors
  The Pittsburgh Penguins reached the 23-man roster limit Wednesday by assigning goaltender John Curry and left wing Janne Pesonen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.  Both players accompanied the Penguins to Stockholm, Sweden for their season-opening, two-game series against the Ottawa Senators but did not appear in either contest. (Yahoo! Sports)

• Bruins assign C Sobotka to Providence
  The Boston Bruins on Wednesday assigned center Vladimir Sobotka to Providence of the American Hockey League.  Sobotka scored one goal and added six assists in 48 games with Boston last season. He also notched 10 tallies and 20 points in 18 contests with Providence. (Yahoo! Sports)
• Canucks send three forwards down to AHL
  Veteran Vancouver Canucks forwards Matt Pettinger, Jeff Cowan and Jason Krog were sent down to the American Hockey League after clearing waivers on Wednesday.  Pettinger, who has played 354 NHL games over seven seasons and is making US$1.1 million this season and Krog were both sent to Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.  Cowan, a tough guy who has played more than 400 NHL games since 2000, was sent to Peoria, the affiliate of the St. Louis Blues. (Yahoo! Sports)
• Isles claim C Thompson from Bruins
  The New York Islanders added a center Wednesday, claiming Nate Thompson off waivers from the Boston Bruins.  A sixth-round pick in 2003, Thompson was placed on waivers by Boston on Tuesday. The 24-year-old native of Anchorage, Alaska made his NHL debut with the Bruins in 2006-07, appearing in four games without recording a point. (Yahoo! Sports)
• Ducks recall G LeNeveu from minors
  The Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday recalled goaltender David LeNeveu from Iowa of the American Hockey League. (Yahoo! Sports)
• Coyotes demote D Jones, C Murray
  The Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday demoted a pair of players and placed defenseman Jonas Ahnelov on injured reserve.  Defenseman Matt Jones and center Garth Murray were assigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League by the Coyotes, who trimmed their roster to the 23-man limit for Saturday’s season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets. (Yahoo! Sports)
• View more NHL and Minor League transactions at NHL.com

Trades & Rumours:

From spectorshockey.net (click to view the full report):

• PIONEER PRESS: Tom Powers reports multiple sources claim Marian Gaborik and his agent rejected a ten-year contract offer worth over $8 million per season from the Minnesota Wild. Powers suggests to GM Doug Risebrough that if he can’t re-sign Gaborik soon he needs to trade him fast otherwise the worse it’ll be when he finally does decide to move him.

• OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports sources claims Senators owner Eugene Melnyk met with former Toronto Maple Leaf Mats Sundin last weekend in Sweden during the Senators weekend games there against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Melnyk apparently told Sundin of the sincerity of GM Bryan Murray’s interest in signing Sundin, who has yet to make a decision as to his future. Garrioch also reports Sundin is rumored unlikely to return to the Maple Leafs if he does decide to return, preferring to sign with a Cup contender.
• COURIER POST ONLINE: Chuck Gormley reports Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spent most of Wednesday shopping around for an experienced defenseman to replace injury blueliner Ryan Parent but had nothing yet to report.
• SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS: David Pollak reports the Sharks demoted veteran defenseman Kyle McLaren to the minors yesterday after he cleared waivers, being unable to find any interest in him on the trade market. Forward Jeff Friesen meanwhile remains in limbo as he and the club attempt to work out a contract but GM Doug Wilson suggested his status could be resolved soon. 
• SPORTING NEWS: Craig Custance reports Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has decided to report to the club’s minor league affiliate.
• MIAMI HERALD: George Richards reports the Florida Panthers continue to negotiate a contract with defenseman Jassen Cullimore. If he’s signed fellow blueliner Cory Murphy, who recently cleared waivers, could be a roster casualty.
• TAMPA TRIBUNE: Erik Erlendsson reports the Lightning weren’t interested in the defensemen on yesterday’s waiver wire but suggests it’s possible they might claim somebody off re-entry waivers.
• DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Mike Heika reports the Stars placed defenseman Doug Janik on waivers, where he was claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks, then re-acquired him via trade, exchanging a conditional seventh round draft pick with the Blackhawks.
• PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: reports forward Kris Beech has refused to report to the minors and been placed on unconditional waivers, where if he’s unclaimed and fails to report to the minors within two weeks his contract can be terminated.

Game Results:

No games held today

Source: Yahoo! Sports | TSN.ca | ESPN | NHL.com

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Around the NHL - Sat 4 and Sun 5 Oct

Injury Updates:

• Brad Larsen: Sports hernia surgery
  Larsen had surgery to repair a sports hernia on Friday, according to the Ducks web site. (ESPN)

• Drew Stafford: Ear injury
  Stafford missed Friday’s practice with an ear injury, Buffalo’s WGR Radio reports. (ESPN)
• Tim Connolly to miss 5th preseason game
  Connolly (back) is expected to miss his fifth straight preseason game on Sunday, according to The Buffalo News. (ESPN)
• Todd Bertuzzi: Leg injury
  Bertuzzi left the ice in Friday’s preseason game with a leg injury, TSN.ca reports. (ESPN)
• Pascal Leclaire: Sprained ankle
  Leclaire sprained his ankle in the second period of Friday’s exhibition game, the Columbus Dispatch reports. (ESPN)
• Guillaume Latendresse to begin staking
  Latendresse will begin the season on a line with Robert Lang and Sergei Kostitsyn. (ESPN)
• Mike Fisher to miss season opening games
  Fisher (groin) will miss both of Ottawa’s season opening games against Pittsburgh reports the Ottawa Citizen. (ESPN)

• Petr Sykora: Groin injury
  Sykora will miss Saturday’s regular season opener with a groin injury, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. (ESPN)

Player Updates:

• Thrashers top prospect Pavelec won’t report to AHL
  Atlanta Thrashers top prospect Ondrej Pavelec will not report to the Chicago Wolves, the team’s AHL affiliate, according to a report in Sporting News.  The 21-year old goalie was assigned to the Wolves on Saturday after appearing in two preseason games for the Thrashers, posting a 1-1 record. (TSN)

• Khabibulin wont practice with Hawks
  Nikolai Khabibulin did not practise with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and won’t until his future is decided.  Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said he hopes the goalie’s sitaution is settled in the “next couple of days.” (TSN)

Signings & Acquisitions:

• Hurricanes sign C Boychuk
  Zach Boychuk certainly had a happy birthday.  The 14th overall pick in this past June’s draft, Boychuk signed a three-year entry level contract worth with the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday - which happened to be his 19th birthday.  Boychuk will net $787,500 per season in the NHL, or $65,000 at the minor league level. (Yahoo! Sports)

• Ducks claim D McIver on waivers
  The Anaheim Ducks claimed defenseman Nathan McIver on waivers from the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.  The 23-year-old did not register a point in 17 games with the Canucks last season. McIver played primarily for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League, collecting three goals and three assists in 43 games.  McIver appeared in three preseason contests for the Canucks, notching 16 penalty minutes. (Yahoo! Sports)
• Nolan Baumgartner assigned to Manitoba
  The Vancouver Canucks assigned defenceman Nolan Baumgartner to Manitoba of the AHL and lost defenceman Nathan McIver on waivers to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.  McIver, 23, played in 17 games with the Canucks last season, collecting 52 penalty minutes. In 43 games with the Moose, he had three goals with three assists and 108 penalty minutes. (Yahoo! Sports)
• Canucks waive Cowan
  The Vancouver Canucks placed forward Jeff Cowan on waivers on Saturday, while the club lost defenceman Nathan McIver to the Anaheim Ducks via the waiver wire as well. (TSN)
• View more NHL and Minor League transactions at NHL.com

Trades & Rumours:

• Wild don’t expect to sign Gaborik by season start
  The Minnesota Wild and winger Marian Gaborik will be headed for a season uncertain.  Wild general manager Doug Risebrough told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday that he does not expect to sign Gaborik to a contract extension by the start of the season. (TSN)

From Spectorshockey.net:

• The Nikolai Khabibulin situation is “nearing a conclusion”, as Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon has told the goalie not to attend team practices until the next course of action is determined to prevent him from getting hurt. When asked when any kind of deal — whether it’s to trade Khabibulin or let him go to Russia — would get done, Tallon said, “The sooner the better”, writes Kuc.

• Contract talks between the Wild and the agent for Marian Gaborik appear to have stalled, as GM Doug Risebrough said no headway has been made, adding that Gaborik won’t be signed prior to the start of the season. Risebrough declined to comment if he’s had talks with other teams and has yet to determine if he’ll shop Gaborik. While it’s unknown what the Wild are offering Gaborik Russo suggests that if the forward is rejecting offers around $8.5 million per season it could spur Risebrough into shopping Gaborik rather than risk losing him to free agency for nothing next summer. If it comes to that Russo suggests Risebrough might deal Gaborik to an Eastern Conference team, possibly to Montreal, Toronto or the NY Rangers as the Wild GM is friends with the general managers of those teams.
• NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and the Anaheim Ducks denied a recent report the league is monitoring potential trade activity between the Ducks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The report was based on speculation Ducks GM Brian Burke might sign with the Leafs next summer as their new general manager.
• Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli continues to huddle with his staff in hopes of finding salary cap space to retain youngsters like Blake Wheeler, Nate Thompson and Matt Hunwick.
• Schaefer could be a trade candidate given his poor play last season and $2.1 million cap hit. Barth also suggests rumors of the Bruins dealing Marc Savard are “unlikely” given his no-trade clause and his status as one of the league’s best set-up men.
• Little progress made in contract talks between the Kings and forward Patrick O’Sullivan but the two sides are reportedly meeting more frequently.

Game Results:

NHL Regular Season Games:

NY Rangers vs Tampa Bay
NY Rangers	2	Final
Tampa Bay	1	Box Score Highlights
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa
Pittsburgh	4	Final OT
Ottawa	3	Box Score Highlights

NHL Preseason Games:

NY Islanders vs Boston
NY Islanders	3	Final
Boston	1	Box Score
Detroit vs Toronto
Detroit	4	Final
Toronto	3	Box Score
Minnesota vs Montreal
Minnesota	3	Final
Montreal	0	Box Score
Philadelphia vs New Jersey
Philadelphia	3	Final
New Jersey	4	Box Score
St. Louis vs Atlanta
St. Louis	4	Final
Atlanta	1	Box Score
Los Angeles vs Phoenix
Los Angeles	2	Final
Phoenix	5	Box Score

(Results data courtesy of yahoo! sports)

Source: Yahoo! Sports | TSN.ca | ESPN | NHL.com

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