Panthers Boost D - acquire Kenny Jonsson

FLORIDA - The Florida Panthers were struggling out of the gate and it was apparent that the loss of Mike Rathje was effecting the team more then anyone wanted to say.

"I think it was a combination of a young defence and the players trying to find their groove." GM Perrault told reporters "Losing 4 of the first five was not how we would of liked to start the season but since then we have had a couple good winning streaks. We had a 5 game unbeaten streak and currently on a 4 game winning streak. But the losing streak made us realize that some changes had to be made if we wanted to get back to the top of the standings."

Changes indeed...The Panthers started the Christmas season giving Jamie Storr his walking papers after he had a couple very poor performances. With Storrs' departure the Panthers then called up 25 year old rookie Donald Choukalos. This move made some insiders raise their eyebrows thinking GM Perrault went over the edge.

"I did not let Jamie go without great thought." GM Perrault responded to why he let Storr go. "It was a total business move. Yes his play did factor in but at the end of the day we were contiplating the move at some point and decided that sooner was better then later. Donald showed he was ready last season when he was called up and we felt that he deserved a shot as the back up."

The GM was not done either.

"I felt that we needed a top defensive defenceman since losing Rathje. It is tough and costly to get D - Men in this league. It was no easy task but we finally got a deal that we could live with. We had to let fan favorite and one of the teams top producers go in Darcy Tucker and youngster Cole Jarrett to get it done but we feel we upgraded our defensive core with Jonsson and that was our goal.

Jamie Langebrunner (Pictured) was the other Redwing to come over in the trade. "I was surprise when I was told about the trade. We were having some success in Detroit and I enjoyed playing there. My focus now is helping the Panthers win. This team has some of the best talent in the league and it is going to be a pleasure to play along side these guys."

Langebrunner has the ability to put the puck in the net and usually saves his best performances for the playoffs. Something that the Panthers will count on in this years post season.

Last but not least...the main player coming to Florida through this trade is Kenny Jonsson.
"We are very happy to have Kenny join the Panthers organization." GM Perrault was quoted. "Having a talented defenceman as Kenny join our organization instantly improves it. We wish Darcy (Tucker) and Cole (Jarrett) all the best in Detroit. We now look forward to watching Kim Johnsson and Kenny Jonsson team up and protect our blue line."

"Thank you all." Kenny Jonsson told reporters. "I am delited to join such a fine organization that is 100% committed to winning and winning now. I am looking forward to to the opportunities and challenges that await."

"Teams will now have to factor in how they are going to get past our defence more now." GM Perrault continued "Lets face facts...our defence was nothing to write home about. We were allowing way too many shots get through to Loungo and not giving him enough support. Kenny fills that void."

We asked the GM is he was all out of holiday shopping and he said "...I am always open on ways to improve this team. That said though....I think that we have all the pieces of the puzzle here right now and have a ligitimate chance to contend once again this year."

Washington Falls in Capital-City Classic

The Washington Capitals saw its two-game winning streak end on Day 33 in a 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The result drops Washington to 7-9-2 for the season.

Ottawa jumped out to an early lead when Nedved scored an unassisted goal at 1:42. The Caps answered through Mark Eaton at 10:16, but the Senators regained the lead 2:41 later. This time it was Poti scoring from Tarnstrom and Kovalev. Washington battled back to make it 2-2 on Patrick Marleau's marker from Todd Warriner at 17:48.

The Sens took the lead again after just 48 seconds of the second period. Selanne was the scorer from Kovalev and Bouchard. Once again the Capitals fought back to level the score. Frantisek Lukes got the goal from Eaton and Peter Tenkrat at 16:31.

Both teams had several chances in the final period, but it was Ottawa's Morrison that netted the game-winner from Nedved and Kaberle on the power play at 17:39. Bryan Berard was in the box for roughing at the time.

Kevin Weekes made 28 saves in the loss and fell to 3-3. Chris Osgood stopped 23 shots to earn the win.

The Capitals are off until Day 36 when San Jose visits the MCI Center.

Junior Capitals Crushed by Carolina

The Washington Junior Capitals continued its terrible run of form in a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Junior Hurricanes on Day 14. Washington was outshot 35-17 in the game.

Sean Bergenheim gave the Caps an early lead when he netted from Jean-Claude Sawyer and Gennady Stolyarov.

Carolina fought back in the second period and tied the game midway through the action. Mancari was the scorer from Fraser at 10:56. The Hurricanes completely dominated the middle stanza, outshooting Washington 10-3.

The 'Canes turned it up in the final period, and Tukonen gave the home club a 2-1 lead with a goal from Penner and Sixon at 1:53. The Junior Caps tied it up just 22 seconds later when Patrick O'Sullivan scored his first of the season from Jared Walker and Stolyarov at 2:15. Carolina then took advantage of a boarding double minor to O'Sullivan at 4:16 to put the game away. Colliton connected first from Barker and Mancari at 6:10, before Korpikoski netted from McGrattan and Penner at 6:53.

Brad Topping made 31 saves in the loss and fell to 1-4. Jeff Glass stopped 15 shots to earn the win.

Washington faces Buffalo on Day 19.

Islanders Almo-st Done Trading

The New York Islanders continued their line-up tinkering on Saturday, acquiring Russian forward Alexander Mogilny from the L.A. Kings. In the deal, the Isles also received a 3^rd round draft pick, while giving up 22 year old winger Brett Sterling, and a 5^th round draft pick.

When the deal was first announced, a call of Shenanigans was made by a division rival GM, screaming foul that the deal would put the Islanders over the cap. However calm was soon restored when it was made clear that in agreeing to be traded, Mogilny had also agreed to restructure his contract, which had 3 years at 5 million dollars remaining. Under the new deal, Mogilny will receive $2.5 million a year for 3 years, and a $9 million signing bonus. At the press conference to announce the trade, reporters questioned the sanity of a trade that costs your team 9 million dollars, when the team is doing so well already. Long was quick to respond.

‘Alex Mogilny is a savvy veteran player, who can still contribute in a huge way. Last year for the Kings, he had 32 goals and 71points. More importantly, he can play both wings, and LW has been an area of concern for us thus far. Nik Hagman is easily our #1 LW, but after that we have 2 rookies (Timofei Shishkanov & Stanislov Chistov) and Mike York. With the addition of Almo, we will be sending Chistov to the farm, and still leave us a great core on that wing.’

So just where will Mogilny draw into the line-up?

Hagman has firmly found his feet on the top line (7 goals in his last 3 games) so the Hagman-Sakic-Hossa unit is unlikely to be broken up.

Rookie Timofei Shishkanov has played above his level on the 2^nd line, with 13 points on the season. However it seems most likely that Mogilny will take his spot, and skate with Mike Peca and Ladislav Nagy.

This will see Shishkanov move down to the 3^rd line, with Patrick Poulin and Sean Bates. As the dominoes fall, Mike York will then move down to 4^th line duty, as the speedy wings has struggled with only 1 goal in 18 games.

The question remains, with the acquisition of Mogilny, did Long stuff up the Islander chemistry that had seen the team jump to a 15-2-1 start? This remains to be seen, but if the Isles struggle, the GM will no doubt make a move to get the club back on track.

Ice Chips

The trade of Mogilny was not the only trade talk the islanders were involved in Saturday. There were rumours about a couple of trades involving the team’s blueline, but nothing was confirmed at the time this story went to press

Capitals Corral Coyotes

Four different players contributed two points each to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Day 32. The result lifts Washington to 7-8-2 for the season.

The Capitals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period behind goals from Cory Sarich and Peter Tenkrat. Todd Warriner and Patrick Marleay setup Sarich at 0:50, and Tenkrat's goal was unassisted at 17:11.

Phoenix pulled a goal back in the second period. Cammalleri was the scorer from Zetterberg and Datsyuk at 11:41.

The Coyotes made it 2-2 early in the final period when Zidlicky netted his second of the season from Malik and Kolnik at 1:33. Washington rallied with a pair of goals in a 2:11 span to earn the win. Marleau scored the eventual game-winner from Zigmund Palffy and Todd Warriner at 8:13. Radoslav Suchy added an insurance marker from Palffy and Sarich at 10:24.

Manny Legace made 24 saves to earn the win and improve to 4-6-2. Patrick Lalime stopped 15 shots in the loss.

The Capitals visit Ottawa on Day 33.

Rangers Pull Trigger Again

Newly arrived Lupul shipped out for Eminger.

Jofferey Lupul hadn't even had a chance to unpack his bags or by a new cell phone. The New York Rangers called him out of practice today and informed the young gun that he'd been deal to Los Angeles for promising young defenceman Steve Eminger.

"Well I'm a little stunned," said a white faced Lupul. "I was hoping to be here a long time. I guess they called me out of practice because I don't actually have a phone yet. I'm...really surprised."

"Nothing against Joffery," said GM Burns as he chomped on a cigar. "I just can't abide a guy who can't spell his own name. Jeffery. J-e-f-f-e-r-y. Jeffery. I asked him if he'd change the spelling and he said no so I sent him as far away as possible. Gives me the willies that kind of thing. Really."

The Rangers fill what was considered a major need with the addition of Steve Eminger. He can fill in as their 3rd/4th dman at the moment but has a big upside and should be in the top 4 for years to come.

"I talked to the Rangers' management and they said they're really going to give me some serious ice time to prove myself. It's what I've been waiting for for a long time," said Eminger over the phone.

Sens Look to Rebound vs. Capitals Tonight

The Ottawa Senators broke their 3 game winning streak with a loss to the Kings on Thursday night. The 5-4 loss saw youngster David Petrasek come up with another multi-point game as he is now tied for the team scoring lead with Selanne and Morrison. It also saw starting tender, Chris Osgood, pulled in the 3rd period. However, Schmucky says that Osgood will get the call again tonight, "We traded for him in the offseason and he is our #1 guy. Bottom line, those goals were not all his fault and we want him to know that. He had a weak 3rd period but was strong otherwise so we have confidence in Ossy to do a good job. He WILL rebound tonight and have a stellar game. I could see him being the reason we win tonight. He takes things very seriously and will come back with a vengeance!"

The Senators are at home facing a Capitals squad that is merely 4 points behind them in the standings. The Caps are coming off of a crushing of the Blackhawks and should be pumped up and ready to battle with the Senators tonight.

This game will be in the 2nd sim this evening and could be a battle of the basement to remember. The Sens are rested and fully healthy.

They also look forward to possibly signing young winger Rico Fata this week as the Holdout period seems to be coming to an end and the 20 game mark is only a couple sims away. He could provide a much needed spark on the 3rd line with Nedved to get the Sens a few more wins!

Capitals Clobber Chicago

Artem Chubarov scored a goal and assisted on two others to lead the Washington Capitals to a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Day 29. The result moved Washington to 6-8-2 for the season.

Chicago jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Mrazek scored his fifth of the season from Boguniecki and Mara at 4:26. Washington ratcheted up the pressure after falling behind and Chubarov tied the game from Mark Eaton at 11:46. The Capitals outshot Chicago 17-9 in the period.

Washington turned it on in the middle of the second period and scored four goals in a span of just 1:31. Zigmund Palffy started it off with a goal from Patrick Marleau and Cory Sarich at 11:24, before David Vyborny made it 3-1 from Oleg Saprykin and Jonathan Cheechoo at 11:51. Frantisek Lukes kept it going from Chubarov and Petr Tenkrat 30 seconds later, and Tenkrat scored a goal of his own from Chubarov and Andrew Ference at 12:55.

Marleau added the final goal at 9:55 of the final period. Cheechoo and Eaton provided the assists.

Manny Legace stopped 22 shots to earn the win and improve to 3-6-2. Roman Cechmanek made 18 saves in the loss. Dan Cloutier stopped 12 shots in relief.

The Capitals are off until Day 33 when the Coyotes visit the phone booth.

Capitals Keep on Losing

The Washington Capitals continued down the wrong path on Day 28, dropping a 4-2 decision to the New York Islanders on home ice. Washington managed just 20 shots in the game.

Nagy gave the Islanders the lead in the first period when he scored from Sakic and Popovic at 17:55.

Neither team scored in the middle stanza, but New York came out quickly in the final 20 minutes. Three goals in a 5:25 span put the game away. Poulin scored first from Bates and Numminen at 3:59, before Hagman scored a brace to make it 4-0. The first came from Sakic and Hossa at 5:34, and Sakic setup the second at 9:24. The Capitals finally got on the board on Oleg Saprykin's third of the season from Jonathan Cheechoo and Andrew Ference at 17:51. Mark Eaton completed the scoring from Patrick Marleau and Todd Warriner at 19:09.

Manny Legace made 24 saves in the loss and fell to 2-6-2. Tim Thomas stopped 18 shots to earn the win and improve to 5-0.

The Capitals host Chicago on Day 29.

Capitals Stumble Against Toronto

The Washington Capitals continued to perplex on Day 25 in a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The result dropped Washington to 5-7-2 for the season, and the game was not as close as the score indicated.

David Vyborny gave Washington a great start when he scored his fifth of the season from Bryan Berard and Oleg Saprykin at 1:15, but it was all Toronto after the goal. Staal tied it up from Smyth and Prucha at 6:09, before Prucha made it 2-1 with a power play tally at 10:42. The Leafs outshot the Caps 19-7 in the period.

Washington battled back in the second period to take the lead. Todd Warriner made it 2-2 from Patrick Marleau and Zigmund Palffy at 1:35, and Palffy's fifth of the year from Marleau and Radoslav Suchy at 15:23 gave the Caps the lead. It only lasted 15 seconds, however, as Morris evened things up for Toronto from Lupul and Kaberle at 15:38.

Timonen gave the Maple Leafs the victory with a power play marker from Staal and Prucha at 8:54.

Manny Legace made 36 saves in the loss and fell to 2-5-2. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 24 shots in the victory.

The Capitals are off until Day 28 when the Islanders come to town.

Senators Make it 3 Straight Wins

The Ottawa Senators went into Vancouver on Sunday night with relatively low expectations. The team was resting starting goaltender Chris Osgood and Brendan Morrison was sidelined with a broken toe.

However, the Sens backups played incredibly in B.C. on Christmas Day and defeated the Canucks 4-2. Suprisingly, players who have underachieved thus far stepped up to replace the teams leading scorer and did so elegantly. The games 1st star, Michael Ryder, opened the scoring for Ottawa with under 2 minutes to go to send the game into the intermission tied at 1.

With Sejna, Nedved and Snyder all scoring in a 5 minute span to open the second, the Sens were flying and led the game 4-1. The Canucks would never recover as the 3rd was scoreless and the final score was 4-2 Ottawa.

Backup tender Roman Turek stopped 27 of 29 shots in an excellent outing. Ryder had a goal and wo assists and Snyder and Nedved each finished with a goal and an assist.

The Senators will have the day off today as they travel to LA to play the 9-6 Kings who are also on a 3 game win streak. One of these streaks will end on Wednesday night. Goalie Chris Osgood is expected to return to the Ottawa lineup but Brendan Morrison is still day to day with a broken toe.

Sens CRUSH KEITH's SABRES!!!

Well, after relentless taunting and abuse about having a 'shitty' team. The Sens have prevailed and embarrassed the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 last night.

However, this match was more of a GM Battle than a hockey game as Keith, who frequently brags and boasts about a team he inherited rather than built, lost to a team he has called shitty and awful on more than one occasion. Schmucky was extremely excited about the win as the Sens not only beat the Sabres, the DESTROYED them in all aspects of the game!

Ottawa outshot Buffalo 38-20, 17-3 alone in the 1st period!! The most noteworthy Senator was Dan Snyder who had a goal and two assists. The Ottawa Powerplay was on fire scoring 3 of the 5 goals on the night. The undisciplined Sabres could do nothing to stop the extremely disciplined Ottawa squad who only had one penalty, which was a marginal call on Ryder in the 2nd period.

On a sad note, the Sabres goon squad did manage to injure #1 Center, Brendan Morrison. However, the injury is minor and it is expected Morrison will miss only 2-3 games.

Schmucky had this to say, "What can you expect from a team like Buffalo? They are losing to a team they have underestimated all season long so they start taking cheapshots! It's disgusting and the league should definitely take a look at the hit. All I have to ask them is 'did anyone catch the final score of that game?'"

The Sens are now going into Vancouver depleted as they will be short Morrison and Osgood. YIKES!

Prucha Stars in Debut - Rangers Still Lose

Petr Prucha gave the New York Rangers something to smile about despite a disappointing loss to the Edmonton Oilers last night. The young winger collected two goals and the games third star while putting on an impressive display of skill.

The Rangers, however, still failed to find a way to win.

In what is shaping up to be a hugely disappointing season the Rangers once again found a way to lose in a game that was within their grasp to win. The Boys From Broadway were victimized by weak goaltending on this occasion as back up Karl Goehring was very shaky and gave up several soft goals.

No one in the league expected Goehring to help much in a back up role for the Rangers. Gone are the days when the Rangers had the luxury of being able to rotate two starters. With the poor record they now sport Goehring's ability to bring home some wins could be crucial to the teams playoffs hopes.

"Karl hasn't played yet this year," said coach Neilson. "He's a good goalie and we have all kinds of faith in him. He'll most likely start next game as Dunham has a slight groin pull that could use another game to heal."

Pavel Bure also continued his impressive play this season. His 7 goals have him on pace for another 40+ goal season but his 5 assists and his willingness to share the puck are a pleasant surprise.

"I'm playing with some great players," said the Russian Rocket. "If I move the puck they tend to bury it. I like to pass now."

Oilers Make Flurry of Changes in hopes to get something going

The Oilers Managment have been disappointed to say the least and have made 3 deals hoping to land the team back up into playoff contention. The Oilers sit at a 4-8-3 record after their first 15 games and in a flurry of moves they hope to of made some key changes to their line-up. The Biggest deal saw assistant captain Adrian Aucoin go to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Janne Niinimaa who is a more defensive minded defenseman. Niinimaa hasn't done much this season and has been traded to two different teams before now finding his new home in Edmonton. The 2nd deal increased their penalty kill and 3rd line defensive capabilities. Niko Dimitrakos went to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Ethan Moreau a defensive minded forward that was dealt to the blues from the Oilers last season. Moreau is happy to be coming back to the Oilers and hopes to help their 3rd line from allowing so many goals against. The 3rd deal of the night was announced and saw Defensman Willie Mitchell come from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Niclas Havelid and Junior Defensman P.J. Atherton. The Oilers main focus is to have their pro team competitive this year and with these transactions I beleive they may of fixed some of the key holes in their line-up.

Sens Win a Barnburner!!

The Ottawa Senators won a close game against the NY Rangers last night. Ottawa came into the game pumped to have their #1 guy, Alexei Kovalev, back in the lineup.

For the 4th game in a row, the Sens opened the scoring 6:56 into period one. Snyder snapped a wrister by Dunham on assists by Petrasek and Whitney. Quickly, the Rangers answered back on Neckar's 1st of the year.

The only goal in a very even 2nd period came from Michael Ryder on a nice pass by Bouchard.

Ottawa drastically outshot the Rangers in the 3rd 14-4! And it paid off! Even though the Rangers tied it up early on, the Sens took the 2 pts away from NY on ROOKIE Chris Kelly's 4th goal of the year!!

The Sens head to Buffalo tonight to whoop some Sabre ass! GO SENS GO!

Axe Falls in New York - Ponikarovsky Dealt

The New York Rangers, in a move that clearly knocked the wind out of Alexei Ponikarovsky, dealt the young winger to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. Rumours were flying in NHL cities all around the league but the Alexei Ponikarovsky sweepstakes are over. Lines on call in shows and sports channels lit up every few minutes over the last few days as deals were rumoured to be under way in Montreal, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Florida and others. Heading back to the New York Rangers is an impressive package of youth which consists of Joffery Lupul, Petr Prucha, and a 5th round draft choice.

"I'm glad to be leaving town," said an uncharacteristically candid Ponikarovsky as he arrived at the airport. "I don't know what I did to upset the management in this place but they've been completely abusive too me the whole year. I'm not one to complain but my numbers are down because of my ice time and there's only so much bashing in the media a man can take. I'll let my goals do the talking in Toronto."

"I knew he'd say something dumb like that," said a clearly amused GM Burns. "Poni's attitude has stunk. He's been a detriment to our dressing room. I would have liked to have ended things nicely but if he's going to talk smack I can only say I hope he finds the training room in Toronto because he certainly never found it in New York. It's the one NEXT TO THE DRESSING ROOM Alexei!"

Capitals Blow Lead, Fall in Chicago

In a mirror-image of its previous game, the Washington Capitals gave up three third-period goals on Day 24 and fell 3-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks. The loss drops Washington to 5-6-2 for the season.

Jonathan Cheechoo gave the Capitals a great start when he scored his fifth goal of the game from Frantisek Lukes and Bryan Berard at 8:57.

Washington made it 2-0 early in the second period on Oleg Saprykin's goal from Peter Tenkrat and Andrew Ference at 0:55, but despite firing 13 shots on goal in the period, that was all the scoring the Caps could muster.

The Blackhawks came alive in the final period. Boguniecki started the rally from Mara and Brendle at 3:07, before Boynton tied the game on the power play from Sykora at 5:30. Brendle capped the comeback from Rasmussen and Perreault at 12:30.

Kevin Weekes stopped 25 shots in the loss and fell to 3-2. Dan Cloutier made 28 saves to earn the win.

Washington returns to home ice on Day 25 against Toronto.

Capitals Stop Senators

The Washington Capitals moved back to .500 for the season on Day 23 in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Washington is now 5-5-2.

Ottawa jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of power play goals in the first period. Petrasek got the first from Morrison and Kaberle at 3:13, before Bouchard made it 2-0 from Novak and Selanne at 19:55.

The Caps started its rally late in the second period on Jonathan Cheechoo's goal from Bryan Berard and David Vyborny at 18:50.

Washington really turned it on the final stanza, outshooting the Sens 13-6 and scoring twice to take the win. Frantisek Lukes struck first with an unassisted goal on the power play at 13:05, and Todd Warriner netted the game-winner from Zigmund Palffy and Patrick Marleau at 15:11.

Kevin Weekes made 20 saves to earn the win and improve to 3-1. Chris Osgood stopped 29 shots in the loss.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 24 against Chicago.

Senators Lose a Close one

The Ottawa Senators will be happy to have Alexei Kovalev return to the lineup to hopefully provide some missing firepower. Kovalev suffered an undisclosed injury two games ago and sat out again last night. Not that he should be blamed for the loss, but losing 3-2 to Washington shows how much they miss the superstar LW when he isn't around.
Ottawa played an average game. Their powerplay clicked for both of their goals giving them a 2-0 lead after the first period. However, the Caps tied it up in the second and scored the game winner in the third to take the two points away from the Sens.
Chris Osgood played a great game stopping 29 of 32 shots but his offense couldn't help him out scoring only two goals on a dispicable 22 total shots.
It is expected the Ozzy will get the start after this short layoff and with Kovalev back, Ottawa hopes to put up a better fight. It is obvious that they have a lack of depth up front.
Schmucky is reportedly shopping Selanne around to see what he could get for the 82 Overall, 3.3 million dollar man. Apparently, they are hoping for a player with similar, but obviously not as high, of a rating and a bit more than 1 year left on their deal.

Montoya gets first career Shutout

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Al Montoya earned his first career shutout Thursday night as Philly JR defeated Minnesota JR 2-0.

The Flyers organization has been off to a bad start both with their pro team and their junior team. Things are looking up for the junior squad as of late, but the pro team has been in deep trouble with two consecutive games allowing 8 goals against and only scoring 2 goals in both affairs.

The Flyers got a scare when two of their promising young players went down versus Minnesota last game. Alexei Ivanov left the game after being hit from behind by Zbynek Hrdel early in the first and is expected to miss up to 2-3 games. The second scare came at 15:46 of the 2nd period as Wojtek Wolski got a stinger from Jake Riddle who was ejected from the game for charging, Wolski will not miss any action but left game for precautionary reasons.

Al Montoya is off to a great start this far into the season. Playing in 10 games, Montoya has a record of 4-5-0, a goals against of 2.43 and a save percentage of .915. Impressive stats considering the start his team has been off to. He will start his 11th consecutive game as the Philly JR takes on St. Louis JR on Day 25.

Flyers suffer another beatdown

The supposedly big bad Flyers rode into town and were hammered 8-2 by the hometown hero,s.The Canucks called up some of their tougher farmhands to show the Flyers that the Canucks wont be pushed around. Not only did they stand up to them it seemed the Flyers didnt want any part of them.
Garrett Burnett 1 0 1 +1 0 2 2 12
Paul Harvey 0 2 2 +2 5 0 4 10
Pat Kavanagh 1 0 1 +2 12 2 0 10
Thierry Douville 1 1 2 +3 2 1 5 18
Matt Walker 0 1 1 +3 0 0 4 14
Not only did they get the Flyers to back down the farmers called up totally dominated them in every aspect of the game.

In the first 10 minutes of the game the Canucks got goals from Rachunek,Zubruis,Knuble and Kavanagh. It was a total dominance of the Flyers that showed the eastern writers that the west was not a division to be messed with.Burnett followed Kavanegh,s goal with his 1st of the season also and a mad celebration ensuied.The guys called up to protect the more timid Canucks were dominating the game.The Flyers backed down as most bvullies do when confronted by men willing to fight back.
3rd period goals by Zednik ,Rachunek and Douville rounded out an eventfull 8-2 win.Canuckss coaching staff was impressed with the total domination of the eastern supposedly badboys. The game was no contest and the Flyers wanted no part of the Canuck tough guys .
The canucks visit the high flying Flames in their next outing.I doubt hey will play as bad as the Flyers.

Reeling Rangers in Free Fall

The New York Rangers have plummeted down the standings over the last week as their offence has gone from Ron Jeremy potency to George McFly style wimpiness. The team was near the top of the league in shots for, goals for, had two players in the top 5 in points, and had a strong power play to boot. All that has changed in a short time as the pop gun offence has failed to well...pop. With only 1 win in their last 7 games times are truly getting desperate for the boys in blue.


In a somewhat unusual twist for a team in slump their goaltending has been fairly steady. Mike Dunham sports a 3.17 GAA and a .882 save percentage but this has been inflated by a few blow outs. Over the last stretch he's been solid but his team has put no goals on the board.


To make matters worse young sniper Alexei Ponikarovsky went down with a wrist injury last game and was missed enormously on the attack last night against the Bruins. The Rangers lost their second consecutive 2-1 game and have only scored 4 goals in their last 3 games and 7 in their last 5. The panic button appears to have been pushed my management who are rumoured to be actively shopping Ponikarovsky, Sundin, and Bure. Rumours had one, two, or all three heading to Pittsburgh last week but no deal came to fruition.

"We're very unhappy with the performance of our team thus far," said GM Burns in an interview today. "We will always make changes if we think it will better our team and right now I think our team has to get better."

Panthers take bite out of Flyers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Florida Panthers took control of the game from the first drop of the puck as they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 8-0.

The romp was on just 59 seconds into this game as the Panthers scored early and never looked back. In most games there are good points to pick out and assess after each game but after this game there was not. Besides the 6 even players on the score sheet (P.Polcik, J.Lundmark, I.Grigorenko, C.Colaiacovo, P.Schaefer and E.Cairns) the Flyers had nothing positive to take from this game, it was brutal.

Goaltending was terrible, defense was atrocious and the offence was just plain nonexistent. This win will kick start the Panthers team and will drop the confidence of the Flyers to even lower as the team was just recently on a two game win streak. Flyers GM had this to say after the game “The Panthers are a solid team, but there is no excuse to lose this way at any point…”. “It was a poor effort by our boys and we will make the changes needed to our line pairings in order to correct these mistakes ...” said the GM.

The Flyers will now face the Vancouver Canucks tonight at GM Place in Vancouver. Expect to see a different set of lines, but it will be a toss up for who will start seeing as both goaltenders played horribly last game.

Canuck Update

The Canucks opened the week with a tough 5-4 loss against the avalanche.Alexander Ault came up with his worst performance of the season at a bad time .This led to a tough practice the next day in preperation for the visiting Devils.

The message was recieved loud and clear as the boys came out flying. Before the game was 11 minutes old the Canucks were up 4-0.Goals from Nash ,Lang ,Zednik and Conroy with his 1st of the year pretty much ended this one before it started.Marchant ended the bid for Ault,s shutout with a powerplay goal at 16;47.Letenin rounded out the scoring late in the second with his 5th of the season. This performance was more of what we are looking for from this season,s Canucks.

Breaking news the Vancouver Canucks traded Brad Richards along with a 2nd round pick in the upcoming draft to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canucks recieved sniper Ollie Jokenin youngster Matthew Lombardi and the Canes 1st round pick this season. We felt this was a risk worth taking as Lombardi with a little luck could be a Canuck in a few seasons.Also having the extra 1st makes trading a little easier so look for more moves from the west coast.Ollie is a little older but there is nothing wrong with experience.Look for Ollie to center the line with Nash and Knuble as his wingers.Till the next time Merry Christmas kiddies.

CANES SHUT OUT AT HOME, ANYONE SURPRISED?

Carolina

The game ended up a stinker for the home town red and when the smoke cleared, a 1-0 shut out at the hands of the Devils left the Carolina Hurricanes fuming.

So much so, in fact, that the team dealt disgruntled top line centerman Olli Jokinen, prospect Matthew Lombardi and a first round draft pick to the Vancouver Canucks for Brad Richards and a second round choice.

"You are asking me how I felt about the game?" questioned Joel Quenneville. "Gee, let me see. We did very little to invoke any sort of pressure. We took too many penalties, we did not score on our 3 opportunities during the game and other than Brodeur, no one came to play. I guess you could say I am not feeling that good about the whole thing. I am sort of conflicted."

Insert Brad Richards

The talented playmaker has been off to a much better start this season than Jokinen, who once again failed to produce last night. Richards is one of the faster pivots in the league and the hope is that he will excel with fellow Team Canada stars Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley, two players who have not been off to fantastic starts either.

"Richards brings a pile of speed and a whole lot of offense," said Quenneville. "I guess the idea is that right now he could probably not play the rest of the season and likely end up as our leading scorer at the end of it all. Hopefully him just being here sparks a little life into this reject convention we have going on here. That is the hope anyways."

The Canes season does not get any easier, however as the next two home games are against the Sabres and the Predators, two teams who can easily put a lot of pucks in a net in a game.

Look for Richards to be in the first contest starting Saturday.

Capitals Fall to Detroit

The Washington Capitals continued its inconsistent ways on Day 21 and dropped a 2-1 decision to the Detroit Red Wings on home ice. Washington is now 4-5-2.

Fata gave the Red Wings the lead midway through the first period with a goal from Komisarek and Goc at 10:59. Washington responded just 3:17 later. Zigmund Palffy got the goal from Todd Warriner and Rob Blake.

After a scoreless second period, the Capitals upped the tempo in the final 20 minutes. With Zvachin in the box for a kicking major, Washington had the upper hand, but a breakdown on the power play led to a shorthanded game-winning goal by Detroit. Murray was the scorer from Williams and Kudroc at 10:03.

Kevin Weekes made 21 saves in the loss after replacing Manny Legace who left the game with an injury. JS Giguere stopped 27 shots for the Red Wings.

The Capitals are off on Day 22 before hosting Ottawa on Day 23.

Leafs "B" squad ends losing streak

Sign of talent on the farm? or reminder of how weak teams really are in this league?






With 4 of their top players out of the Leafs starting lineup, Leaf fans were expecting more losing results. Names like Horcoff, Gautier, Morris, Nabokov all missing due to injury or fatigue. So, in comes argueably one of the weakest back-up goalies in the league in Johan Hedberg, and a few unsuspecting players stepping up to motivate this team into a 3-3 tie with the lowly Bruins, and a 7-4 surprise win over the weak Bluejackets.

Sure, this looks like to be more of good fortune of the quality, or lack their of , of their opponents. It gave the lesser lights a chance to shine and they did. We are talking 70-73 ov farm types here. You know, the type of players that fill the Ducks and Flyers starting rosters on a daily basis.

some examples of who is produced last game
Martin Sagat 0 0 0 +1 0 2 0 12
Adam Nittel 0 1 1 +1 0 1 2 12
Markus Seikola 0 1 1 +1 2 3 3 19
Petr Prucha 0 2 2 +1 0 2 0 20

Its surely not much to get overly excited about , however, if teams have to play the 6-8 teams who seem to all be going for the Crosby sweeps, then they really shouldnt have any trouble making the playoffs. Infact, it would seem to be more difficult losing games then winning.

Just an observation from someone who isnt usually observant

Anon Y. Mous

Philly JR Lose to Isles

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philly junior team has lost their 5th game out of 9 total games so far this year.

This is a very disappointing start for the Flyers junior squad who were expected to do much better with the current lineup they have. The last loss came at the hands of the Islanders junior team where Philly lost 6-3. Al Montoya didn’t have his best game of the season and after allowing 5 goals on 21 shots he got the pull in favor of backup Daniel Manzato who made 2 stops out of 3 shots.

With the recent loss the team’s record goes to 4-5-0. The season is only young, but the points obtained now go a long way in solidifying a playoff birth for this Flyers team who has Calder Cup hopes this season.

A scary moment for the Isles junior early in the 1st period as Jamie Tardiff tried to lift Anton Kadeykin's stick and hit him right on the wrist. Kadeykin is out indefinitely with a fracture in his wrist. The league will be reviewing the incident, but nothing is expected since it was a fairly innocent incident.

Philly management is expected to make a few shakeups to their lineup for next game, but they also made it clear that Al Montoya will be starting his eighth game in a row as EdmontonJR heads to Philadelphia to face PhillyJR on Day 22.

JR CANES DROP CLOSE CONTEST

Carolina

Goals from Speedy Colin Fraser and power forward Mush Mancari were still not enough for the junior Canes to prevail over the Ottawa Senators.

The Canes were also unsuccessful in their 6 power play tries, a stat that had several onlookers scratching their heads. With the big guns like Corey Perry, Dustin Penner and Jeremy Colliton relatively silent in the contest, some were ready to press the panic button.

Overall, however, the Canes simply were not into this game as much as they should have been. They came out quickly, scored two and then hit the cruise. Ottawa was one of the better clubs last year and you simply cannot rest against them. The Canes learned this quickly.

Of note, Jeremy Swanson left the game in obvious pain. The actual event is unknown as to what happened but it was enough for David Cornacchia to head butt Igor Volkov. Corny served a five minute major for his act.

The Canes have tonight off and it might be a lucky thing that is the case. With a power play struggling and Boutin suffering from what seems to be flu-like symptoms, the Canes will gladly accept this break in the schedule.

Junior Capitals Walloped by Wild

The Washington Junior Capitals continued to struggle on Day 13, falling 7-0 at the hands of the Minnesota Junior Wild. Washington has just one win so far this season.

Jacobson gave Minnesota a great start when he scored an unassisted goal at 11:34 of the opening period. The Caps didn't help themselves much, playing shorthanded for 14 minutes on four penalties.

The Wild turned it on in the second period with three power play goals. Wheeler got the first from Lutes and Babchuk at 2:09, before Hrdel made it 3-0 from Kostitsyn and Stoner at 3:38. Lindstrom extended the lead to 4-0 with his fifth of the season from Jacobson and Lutes at 6:50.

Minnesota kept firing on all cylinders in the final period. Wheeler scored again on the power play from Vrana and Medvedev at 1:33, and Lindstrom made it 6-0 from Lutes and Ezhov at 12:18. Bernier completed the rout with a power play goal from Jacobson and Hrdel at 14:07. Minnesota was 5-12 on the power play in the game.

Robert Muller made 19 saves in the loss. Brad Topping stopped 10 shots in relief. Andrei Medvedev needed just 16 saves to earn the shutout.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 14 in Carolina.

Leafs finally land young dman

The Leafs search for a young well rounded dman is over, as trade was made with the Penguins


Coming to Toronto

Jussi Timonen D L OK
72 73 76 74 73 72 77 77 76 75 74 45 42 79

23 6 ft 0 200 lbs 2,000,000 2 years

Going to Pittsburgh

Igor Knyazev D L OK
71 76 73 71 79 54 80 74 73 67 70 60 53 77
(Was hold out who was traded again, then signed with calgary)
24 6 ft 1 190 lbs 3,400,000 3 years
24 Staffan Kronwall D L OK
66 64 66 68 67 70 65 63 71 74 59 27 29 70


The Leafs were very happy with his deal, as Jussi is very young and will only get better, and Igor was a hold out. It took the prying of one of the Kronwall brothers to from their gm's hands to make this deal happen. The upside of Timmonen was seen right away, as he was able to jump right in the lineup and help this team stop their 4 game slide.

As teams find their footing, some are uneasy and have been hounding the Leafs about some of their assets, most notably Centre Shawn Horcoff. His dirt cheap salary for his age and talent level is very attractive to some teams who could use the boost at the position but who are tight in cap space. A few deals were close to being completed, but lacked that finishing touch. The Leafs themselves are still trying to find themselves and arent going to jump the gun just yet just to make a deal.

It is the Holidays, and who knows if a gift will land on the Leafs lap over the next few days. Stranger things have happened.

Anon Y. Mous

JR CANES DOWNED BY DEVILS

Carolina

With the momentum on their side, the Carolina Hurricanes Junior club felt that they would have a relatively easy contest versus the New Jersey Devils. It even seemed that way early when Jeremy Colliton buried his fifth of the season just over a minute into the contest, but in the end, that was all the team received offensively and they found themselves in a 2-1 loss.

The newly formed line of Dustin Penner, Stephan Dixon and Colliton was the only group that were able to find the net. They were able to maintain a strong forecheck and utilize their size to their advantage.

On the back end, Braydon Coburn was injured on somewhat of a fluke play after team mate Corey Perry went in to hit Devil Brady Murray and accidentally clipped Coburn on the way. Perry also ended up boarding Murray and was called for a 2 minute minor.

Jonathan Boutin, netminder for the Canes, had another good start and neither of the goals could be faulted on him, but overall the Canes did not bring enough enthusiasm to match that of the Devils.

Of note, Jordan Smith left the game in the second as well, after a scrap with veteran defenseman David Hale. Smith was mainly unwilling to fight but Hale had other plans and while Smith fought back, he was never really set up to go with the bigger Hale. Hale was also given a game misconduct for his assault on the young Jordan Smith. Smith attempted to return but in the end was forced to leave the game. The injury should not effect his status for this evenings game as he is listed as a probable starter for that contest.

The Canes head to Ottawa this evening where the Junior Senators await.

The Sens and Canes both have identical records this season and sit at 4-4-1 a piece.

The Canes will likely go with Jeff Glass in net and the possibility of a different looking lineup is probable. In the absence of Braydon Coburn, iIt also marks the return of veteran defenseman and assistant captain David Cornacchia, a much needed left hand shot from the point. Cornacchia is arguably the team's best offensive defenseman and his addition to the lineup should help bolster a power play that will need to be on tonight against their division rivals.

Centomo: 3 Starts, 3 Shut Outs. Wow.

Sebastien Centomo got his 3rd start of the season in as many days yesteday and shined again get his 3rd shut-out in a row! Centomo has been unbeatable in his last 180 minutes of game time and made 28 of 28 saves last night to propel his team to a 5-0 win over the Junior Leafs. Centomo stoned Alexander Ovechkin and Robbie Schremp on multiple scording opportunities. Centomo prior to this season had a very limited role as the 3rd string goalie on the Junior Oilers only playing in 9 games last season and he looked less then promising. This season his stats so far speak for themselves. How long can he keep this up?

TEAM GP MIN AVG W L T SO GA SA PCT PIM AS
33 *Sebastien Centomo Edm 7 250 0.48 3 0 0 3 2 113 .982 0 0

Flyers Winning Streak Ended

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Flyers winning streak was snapped at 2 games with the recent 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Hawks had something to prove and the streaky Philadelphia team could not hold them off in this one. Philly scored first on Mike Stuart’s first career goal, that lead was short lived as the Hawks scored 4 goals in a row including Nick Boynton’s first goal of the season and Antoine Vermette’s first goal. Kyle Wellwood made the game interesting with over 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd period as he cut the lead to 4-2, but the Hawks answered just minutes later to clinch the win on a powerplay goal on Eric Boguniecki’s second of the season.

After having several good games, Andrew Raycroft had his worst game of his season this far, allowing 5 goals on 19 shots. Flyers management is still unsure if they will continue to go with Raycroft or if they will go back to their youngster Martin Gerber for the next game.

The Philadelphia Flyers next game comes in two days time when they travel to Florida to take on the high scoring Florida Panthers. Florida is struggling so far this season; will the Flyers be able to take advantage of the poor start? The decision about the goaltending will be made soon, but the Flyers will be dressing tough guy Eric Cairns in place of Jim Vandermeer after his poor game tonight.

Capitals Dim Stars

Manny Legace stopped all 24 shots he faced on Day 19 to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 victory over the Dallas Stars. The win lifts Washington to 4-4-2 for the season.

David Vyborny opened the scoring for the Caps in the first period when he converted from Frantisek Lukes and Jonathan Cheechoo at 16:15. Washington outshot Dallas 7-4 in the first and killed six minutes of penalties.

The Capitals extended the lead to two goals with a shorthanded tally late in the middle stanza. While Oleg Saprykin was in the box for charging, Zigmund Palffy netted from Dan Boyle and Bryan Berard at 17:02. The other action in the second was a fight between Cory Sarich and Dallas' Eyestrom that ended in a draw.

Legace's performance upped his record to 2-4-2. Marty Turco had 16 saves in the loss.

The Capitals are off on Day 20 before hosting Detroit on Day 21.

MANCARI AND POWER PLAY CLICK

Carolina

The Junior Canes gave up 9 power plays and 28 shots, but the club would not give in to the thought of a loss.

Mark Mancari continued his ongoing story of being one of the league's most physical power forwards, notching two more goals and putting him up to 5 goals on the year after 8 games.

Jonathan Boutin, who replaced Jeff Glass after the last horrid loss to the Rangers, returned to form with a 26 save performance and earned himself the second star of the game.

Jordan Smith was also his usual physical self, with a +1 rating, 3 hits and a game leading 14 penalty minutes. Smith is now +5 on the year and leads the Canes in that category, penalty minutes with 48 and is tied for second on the team in assists with 4.

"Jordan has really been one of our most consistent players all year long," said Hartsburg. "He is not a flashy guy, but he will give you everything he has every night. I think I depend on him more than any one else on this team because he has the leadership, the talent and the no quit attitude that I look for in a guy."

Jordan Smith also added an assist in the contest, setting up Mike Richards for his first of the year. Richards had been struggling offensively from the get go but has since looked more comfortable in his third line role.

"I was hoping to get more offensive ice time, but Penner and Fraser are doing the job right now," said Richards. "I like the role of shutdown guy, but sometimes, we like the gravy points."

The Junior Canes host the junior Devils tonight. Look for the same lineup.

HOME COOKING JUST WHAT THE HURRICANES NEEDED

Carolina

Raleigh had been resting, but on Sunday night, the arena once again had some life.

The lights were dim, the energy was high and then the explosion hit. With the crowd in full gear, all 18,730 of them, the Hurricanes took to the ice.

"Seriously man, that is exactly what we have been missing," said captain Shane Doan. "This crowd is usually known around the league as a slacking sort, but they are loving this team and I think we came out hard."

The Canes came out hard, hitting everything that moved. The destructive duo of Dion Phaneuf and Ilja Nikulin delivered 11 hits between them and led the game in that category. The Rangers were being bashed around throughout most of the contest, but were able to get the early lead on a sickening blast from Pavel Bure.

The Canes wasted little time in the second period when star defenseman Janne Niinimaa took a silky feed from speedster Jeff Friesen and buried his first of the season. The crowd was again fired up and the team looked ready to make their move.

"When we tied the game up, the place erupted again," said Jay McKee. "We wanted so badly to keep that momentum going but we just could not bury another one."

Late in the third, to the disappointment of the Canes, Mats Sundin one-timed a pass from Wade Redden and the Rangers once again took the lead.

The Canes battled and battled all third period and with the extra man pulled, Janne Niinimaa spotted a streaking Jeff Friesen and made a bullet pass to the talented left winger, who did a quick move and roofed his third of the year with 35 seconds remaining in the contest. The two teams fought hard, but neither could earn the extra point.

"It was a huge game for us," said defenseman Dion Phanuef. "We played a good game and ended up with a tie with one of the better clubs in the CLUTCH. We will take it and hopefully ride the undefeated steak a bit more."

The Canes will have time to replenish and await the Devils, a surprise team in the first 10 games. The Devils are led by the speedy Todd Marchant, who leads the club with 18 points, along with former Cane Radek Dvorak who has 9 goals. The Devils started off hot but haven’t won a game in 4 tries. The Canes hope to continue their current momentum and steal 2 points.

Senators Break Slump Vs. Hawks

The Ottawa Senators saw their huge 3 game losing streak come to an end last night after beating the Hawks at home, 3-2.

The story continues to be that the Sens can't score! Their top line of Selanne, Kovalev and Morrison was again, held pointless for the entire game and actually saw Teemu go down with an injury due to a VICIOUS high stick. Teemu should recover quickly but this will give GM Schmucky an opportunity to try some different combos on that top line.

Osgood played well last night stopping all but 2 shots and standing on his head at the end of the game to secure the victory for Ottawa.

Sejna had his first multi-point night of the season last which Ottawa desperately needed in order to get back on track. The Sens have the night off tonight which should be beneficial to healing Selanne prior to their next matchup.

Flyers Win Two in a Row

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Flyers have finally put a winning streak together this young season with the latest 4-1 win over the Chicago BlackHawks.

Brad Leeb opened the scoring with a shorthanded marker early in the first. Jamie Lundmark also got his first goal of the season and Jay Harrison also continued his hot hand scoring his 4th goal in his last four games.

This was the Flyers most complete game of the season so far playing well for a full 60 minutes and out shooting the Hawks 32 to 23. The shutout bid for Andrew Raycroft was cut short late in the second period with 56 seconds left the Hawks netted their first and only goal off the stick of Bobby Russell. Raycroft stopped 22 of 23 shots earning him the games first star honors.

A side note from the game Jay Harrison has been suspended for 3 games following a vicious beating on BlackHawks defenseman Todd Simpson just 5 seconds after Harrison scored his goal. As for a replacement, next game the Flyers will be dressing Jim Vandermeer in place of the suspended Harrison. This will add more grit to the lineup and should help the team stir up some emotion with the home crowd.

The Flyers will be looking to make it 3 in a row as they face the BlackHawks tomorrow night in Philadelphia.

Junior Capitals Go Down Again

The Washington Junior Capitals dropped another one-goal decision on Day 12, coming up just short against the Colorado Junior Avalanche 4-3.

Mikhail Kuleshov gave Washington a good start when he scored his first of the season on the power play from Patrick O'Sullivan and Matt Maglione at 10:34. Colorado tied the game less than a minute later when Skladany netted from Green and Viitanen at 11:31. The other action of the opening 20 minutes were a pair of fights won by the Avs. Darren Reid beat up Fabien Laniel at 2:56, and Mark Flood beat up O'Sullivan at 13:58.

The Junior Capitals regained the lead after just 10 seconds of the second period. Sean Bergenheim got the goal from Jean-Claude Sawyer and Maglione. Colorado answered with a pair of goals to go ahead 3-2. Green scored first from King and Bois on the power play at 6:04, before Klyazmin netted from O'Byrne and Foote at 14:34. In a third round of fisticuffs, O'Byrne and O'Sullivan fought to a draw at 17:33.

Washington tied the game early in the final period on a goal by Cory Urquhart from Maxim Orlov and Igor Shadulov at 5:28, but Martz's strike from Skladany and Belle at 14:03 gave Colorado the hard-fought victory.

Brad Topping made 28 saves in the loss and fell to 1-3. Nick Pannoni stopped 21 shots to earn the win for the Avs.

The Junior Capitals are back in action on Day 13 against Minnesota.

Flyers Win, Finally

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers have finally won their first game of the season with a 6-5 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

It wasn’t a pretty win by any means but it counts none the less. The Flyers came into the game with a record of 0-5-3. The team struggled in all areas on the ice and this game was a must win for the team. Goal scoring was at a minimum for the team, who traded in their defensive style of play from the last few games for some scoring.

The Flyers fought back from a 4-1 deficit and took the lead 6-4. The Devils would respond late in the game on a power play goal by David Legwand.

Kyle Wellwood and Matthew Stajan broke through for the Flyers in this game with 1st and 3rd stars respectively. Team captain Martin Grenier also chipped in with 2 assists followed by his first goal of the season. Jay Harrison who heard lately he was being involved in a deal came out with his best game as a Flyer scoring 2 goals and being a +3 at games end.

The Flyers look to make it 2 in a row tonight versus the Chicago BlackHawks. Philly management also said that Andrew Raycroft will be starting in back to back games since they liked how he played last game even though he did give up 5 goals against on 31 shots.

Conklin Makes 39 saves to beat Penguins

With Kariya & Boughner out and a shortened bench the Oilers were not very optimistic going into yesterday's game so it took the motivation of Ty Conklin's outstanding goaltending to get the team going. Conklin was unbeatable. Allison, White, Dupuis and Battaglia scored for the Oilers while an early goal by Sullivan is was the only thing that beat Conklin. The new combination of Dupuis and White worked well together on the 2nd line and Dupuis is likely to retain his promotion to the 2nd line for this upcoming game against the Flames. Jason Wiemer makes his Oilers debut tonight vs. the Flames and is expected to fill in some much needed spots on the Penalty Kill and playing the point on the 2nd Power Play. The Oilers have started to finally click and have shown an improvement as of late moving into 8th spot in the conference. They go in Healthy vs. The 1st place flames and they'll need it. Conklin is likely to get the start based on his previous performances.

In Junior the Oilers pulled off their first win. The Junior Oilers coach knew their had to be a mix up in lines and totally redid their line-up. Sebastien Centomo had a shut-out while last years star goaltender Leneveu was sitting on the bench to think about his poor play this season.

Capitals Tie Wild

The Washington Capitals put an end to its two-game losing skid on Day 16 with a 3-3 tie against the Minnesota Wild. The result lifts Washington to 3-4-2.

Minnesota came out quickly in the opening period and took a 1-0 lead when Plekanec netted from Stillman and Roenick at 11:40. The Wild outshot Washington 8-3 in the period.

The Caps raised its game in the second period, and Dan Boyle tied the game after just 1:12. Frantisek Lukes and Mikael Renberg assisted on the goal. Minnesota regained the lead 8:24 later when demitra scored his sixth of the season from Ruutu and Lecavalier at 9:36, but the Caps tied it up again with a shorthanded tally late in the action. Marleau was the scorer from Rob Blake and Cory Sarich at 18:52.

Washington took the lead midway through the final period with a power play goal from Jonathan Cheechoo. Oleg Saprykin and Mark Eaton assisted on the tally. The Wild kept fighting, however, and Eade tied the game for good with a power play marker from Roenick and Ruutu at 15:46.

Manny Legace stopped 19 shots for the Caps. Ryan Miller had 21 saves for Minnesota.

The Capitals return to action on Day 19 against Dallas.

A Familiar Sight for the Sens

The red flash of the Goal light was a frightening but familiar sight for the Senators two nights ago. The Sharks lit the Senators up for 8 goals in a 8-4 routing in Ottawa.

Tonight the Ottawa faces the mighty Wings and Sens GM Schmucky expects a much better performance, "We can't expect to make playoffs and achieve our goals if we continue to play like we did. Our offense has to step up but our Defense has to play tough as well. Osgood was not completely at fault but by no means did he impress us either. We simply have to play better."

The Sens are reportedly on the hunt for a Defensive Winger that could fit into their 2nd line. That line is a -10 right now and could be the cause of many of the woes the Sens have faced thus far. Players on the block include: Nedved, Morrison, zhitnik, Fata, and most everyone on the offense except for the "BIG 3"; Selanne, Kovalev and prized prospect Bouchard.

Open Season

For the second straight game, the Islanders offence exploded, as the hometown team beat the visitng Anaheim Ducks 7-1. Joe Sakic was the 1^st star of the game, recording a goal and 3 assists. The 4 point night moved him into the league lead, with 17 points in 9 games.

Stanislav Chistov was the 2^nd star of the night, with a pair of goals from the fourth line. Coach Lorne Henning was impressed with the youngsters dedication. “When Stani came here (acquired from the Minnesota Wild in a trade for Matt Jones and Lenoid Zvachkin), I made it clear to him that his ice time was going to drop dramatically from his previous seasons. He`s an up and coming forward, but is stuck behind some great talent. He has handled it well, and has been a source of energy for out 4<sup>th</sup> line.” Chistov himself is happy with his situatution. “Are you kidding me? This club has won 3 cups in 5 years. When I heard that I`d been traded to The Isles, I was very excited. To have a chance at winning the Stanley Cup, I`d play 2 minutes a night as GOALIE!”

Zdeno Chara was the 3^rd star of the game, as he had 3 assists and had 3 hits on the night.

There were several other Islanders who just as easily could have been named as stars, as Mike Peca had 3 assists, and rookie Timofei Shishkanov also registered 3 helpers.

Goalie David Aebischer looked sharp again, as he stopped 22 of 23 shots, and shut the Ducks out in the second period when they outshot New York 11-7. “The guys in front of me aren`t going to score 7 goals every night. The past few games, I`ve been a little shaky, however tonight I was seeing the puck well, and keeping control of rebounds. I`m going to need to continue to play like this to stay competitive in this conference.

Ice Chips

Up next for the Islanders, the Edmonton Oilers come to town. The Oilers come in unbeaten in 3 games, and goaltender Ty Conklin has played great in limited action. Tim Thomas is expected to start for the Islanders, as David Aebischer will get the following start against The Penguins. In his lone start this year, Thomas stopped 28 of 32 shots, earning the win against the L.A. Kings.

Mystery injuries leave trio hurt, Leafs GM blames bad ice.

The Leafs were looking forward to getting both Henrik Sedin, Ryan Smyth and Evgeny Nabakov, back into their starting lineups in hopes to end their current losing skid.

The Leafs did infact win in their home game against the Capitals, but it did come at a cost in what truly was an odd game.

During the game, 3 players were hurt, once in each period, but they were not directed from penalties, since there infact was only 1 penalty total in the entire game.

Game Notes

Todd Warriner injured at 00:22 of the 1st Period
Derek Morris injured at 19:45 of the 2nd Period----Toronto
Denis Gauthier injured at 09:39 of the 3rd Period--Toronto





In another odd twist to this, the entire Hurricane team were rumored to have fallen into this same crack as well. Sure its odd, since they havent played into Toronto yet this year, but when we asked their GM, his reply was "I havent seen my team in ages, can someone tell me when they are spotted?"

The search for the Hurricanes club continues and perhaps a way to fix this ice.

Canucks frustrate Canes

The Carolina Hurricanes continued their long long road trip with a trip into Vancouver.This was the 9th game of a 10 game road trip to open the season.Canes management isnt happy about this especially since its due to a Redneck convention that has taken over the city for over a month.Its a terrible time for us right now and i hope all theose beer drinkin vermin get out of the city when we arrive homesaid a downtrodden Mark Lohaus.

The game started well for the Canes as Danny Heatly scored his 4th of the year from Jokenin and Boucher.After that it was all downhill for the visitors. Rick Nash scored a shorty at 7;43 with the assist ,s going to Richards and Knuble.That is very strange since Knuble was in the penalty box at the time.Nash gave the Canucks the lead on a powerplay goal at 17;09.It was a lead that they wouldnt give up.

The Canucks scored the last 3 goals of the game.Zednik,Knuble and Gladskikh rounded out the scoreing.On a side note the Canucks lost Rick Nash and Jason King to injuries.This will test our team to see if we need to go looking around for some lw depth. The Redwings are next on the hitlist.

Capitals Topped by Toronto

The Washington Capitals battled for 60 minutes, but it was the Toronto Maple Leafs that came out on top for a 4-3 victory on Day 15. The loss dropped Washington to 3-4-1 for the season.

Toronto jumped out to an early lead on Horcoff's goal from Nittel and Gauthier at 2:01, but the Caps tied the game just 5:20 later. Artem Chubarov was the scorer from Mark Eaton and Oleg Saprykin. The Maple Leafs regained the lead 19 seconds after Chubarov's marker when Sagat netted his first of the year from Gauthier and Forster. Once again Washington fought back to tie the game. This time it was Rob Blake lighting the lamp from Zigmund Palffy and Patrick Marleau at 12:29.

The Leafs took the lead for the third time just nine seconds in the second period. Staal was the scorer, and the goal was unassisted. It took the Caps 16:43 to even the score again. David Vyborny got the goal from Dan Boyle and Bryan Berard.

Toronto took its fourth lead of the game when Forster scored from Sagat at 1:05 of the third period, but this time the home side held on and secured the win.

Manny Legace made 28 saves in the loss and fell to 1-4-1. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 25 shots to earn the win.

The Capitals are back in action on Day 16 in Minnesota.

CANES SUCK, WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Carolina

After working on the power play heavily the past couple of days, the Canes received what they supposedly wanted. A goal scored on the Carolina power play. However, the Canes were still not happy.

What was the issue you ask?

It was a short handed goal against a group of five that looked like a bunch of amateurs.

"I think I have aged 10 years this past month," said head coach Joel Quenneville. "We practice hard, I think we are prepared and then they take the ice and it is like everything we went over just goes away. I really have no idea what else can be done with this group. They flat out refuse to play for 60 minutes and they seem to expect things to be handed to them. We are scoring just over 1 goal a game for god sakes. How the hell can you expect to win when no one is doing anything?"

The Canes, in fact, played so poorly that Quenneville left the game early in the third period after Mike Knuble scored a floater on Martin Brodeur.

"They are killing Independent Joel!"

Quenneville also threw a portable skate sharpener through a plate glass window located outside the dressing room and proceeded to blast profanities to whoever would listen.

"I cannot sit here and tell you that we can just keep working and things will get better," said Quenneville. "It has not happened yet. I look at this group of guys and wonder how any of them ever made it here. Joel is getting upset!"

The Canes continue their road trip with a quick swing to Columbus before finally retuning home. Chances are the fans of Carolina have stopped caring about this club and it will be interesting to see how the rest of this season continues to progress.

One thing is for certain, the Canes will not sit by and idly watch this club flop around. If things do not go well and soon, the Canes will unload some of their high end talent. The plan, as has always been, is to bring in the Team Canada Juniors, and if it means dumping off the stars of the current team, like Brendan Shanahan, Jeff Friesen and Janne Niinimaa, then so be it.

"You know, I used to have hair," said Quenneville. "This is killing me damn it!"

Flyers, Oilers fight to a Draw

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers battled to a 1-1 tie on Thursday.

In a defensive and goaltenders battle, each team was held to just one goal each. The first period was all Edmonton Oilers, and if not for Martin Gerber the team would have been out of the game after the 1st with Gerber stopping all 17 shots faced in the first period. Philadelphia scored the first goal of the game at 14:41 of the 2nd period on a goal from Peter Schaefer. That goal held up until early in the 3rd period on a goal from Paul Kariya. Shortly after this goal the Flyers sent out their energy line and they responded, Scott Parker went out looking for a dance partner and found one in Bates Battaglia. Only problem was Bates did not think this through too well as he quickly realized when Parker introduced him to his knuckles.

Late in the 3rd period Paul Kariya left the game on a high stick from Jamie Lundmark. Derian Hatcher did not like seeing his star player go down without a fight so he grabbed onto the closest player to him just shortly after the incident, the player he went after was Andre Roy and both men put up a very good fight.

The Flyers in no way should have got a point out of this game; the credit goes to 1st star Martin Gerber for his 29 save performance. The Flyers next game is Saturday vs. the New Jersey Devils.