Between the Boards Monday December 2nd
Well hello hockey
fans and welcome to another week of between the boards …
Lets start out in the Western Conference first with the biggest news of the week
to me was the firing of Coach Sutter and his staff. This to me was a big
surprise he had really turned around that franchise so much so that many
consider them to win the West and get to the Cup Finals. They go off to a bad
start when they did not have Nabokov and Stuart in training camp and missed the
early part of the season. Nabokov is considered a top 5 goalie in this league
and to not have him will hurt any team. So much of Sutter’s system
relies on Nabokov. When he did get back they were not the same team and they did
not play as solid as they did last year defensively. Is this really Sutter’s
fault or the GM for not getting these guys in before the season started. Staying
in the West the hottest team in hockey is still Vancouver now winners of 10
straight games. I got a chance to see this team first hand Friday night and they
are a solid hockey team. Brian Burke has put together a great team and team that
has a young core that will be good for a long time. If Dan Cloutier can stay hot
and stay away from allowing the soft goal this team will be one that you won't
want to miss come playoff time. Dallas is still also very hot and with Marty Turco playing like he is they are only going to get better
. They have the talent with 3 awesome lines and plenty of talent on the blue
line as well. How bad are the Flames? In the month of November they were
outscored 44-21.
Now lets talk about the East, the biggest news to me was the loss of John
Leclair for almost 10-12 weeks with a dislocated shoulder. This to me is the
heart and soul of the Flyers he is to me one of the best power forwards in
hockey. In the last 4 games for the Flyers they have scored a total of 3 goals.
This will not sit well with the Flyer faithful. How good are the Bruins ? They
are very good we are in the month of December and they have 3 loses in
regulation and 1 in OT. They have a goals against average of 2.27. Those in the
New England area are watching a superstar in the making Joe Thornton. I am glad
to see that they gave him a 1 year extension. If they can hold this team
together I could see a few banners being raised in the Fleet Center. Since the
Thrashers have signed Dafoe they are 2-1 and playing much better hockey knowing
they can take chances with a legit NHL goalie. They have so much talent up front
not a team I would want to get in a shoot out with. They Rangers tried that and
the Thrashers scored 7 goals on Blackburn. The lead in the Southeast has gone
now back to the defending East Conference champion Canes. The reason is the hot
play of the Canes and the poor defensive coverage by the Bolts. The Bolts now
are missing their top defenseman Cullimore and it shows in the game vs. the
Rangers Sunday they gave up a 1 goal lead with 5minutes left to lose the
game in regulation and not even earn a point. The Bulin wall can only do so
much.
The Good-
1. The Canucks and Bruins best 2 teams in the NHL.
2. Mario Lemieux- Still has a double digit lead in the points leading standings.
3. Markus Naslund- now has 15 goals and looks like he could be the early
favorite the way he is playing for the Rocket Richard award.
4. Joe Thornton so far this season 13 goals and 21 helpers and yes he also a
plus 14.
The Bad-
1. The Flames in 2 out there last 3 games they had 7 goals scored against them.
2. Tony Amonte a big money UFA signing for the Coyotes 6 goals in 25 games on a
pace for not even 30 goals ..were the Blackhawks that dumb to get rid of him?
3. Gary Bettmen - please stop ruining the coolest game on earth.
4. Jose Theodore- last years Vezina and Hart trophy winner has a total of 5 wins
with a 3.52 goals against .