Daniel Alfredsson Hurt

Now is the time for veteran forward Alex Kovalev to step up and lead the Ottawa Senators. It hasn’t been a smooth season to say the least for the 36 year-old veteran who in his first season with Ottawa has been criticized for his inconsistency. Even though he is on pace for only 16 goals and 46 points Kovalev can quickly become a fan favourite if he can get on a roll during this crucial time for the Senators. Barely clinging to a playoff spot Ottawa suffered a huge loss on Wednesday night when their leading scorer Daniel Alfredsson badly injured his shoulder during an 8-2 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alfredsson who joins another top scorer in Jason Spezza on the disabled list had his arm tightly wound in a sling after the game and is expected to be out for a few weeks. “I’m trying to reach for the puck,” Alfredsson said about the incident in the opening period when he was hit by Craig Adams. “In the position I am in there, I’m pretty vulnerable…and he stepped into me.”  Despite the fact that Alfredsson’s helmet came spinning off in what was a check in the head area Adams wasn’t assessed a penalty on the play. Senators coach Cory Clouston refused to comment on the hit but did say that he will comment on Alfredsson’s status on Saturday prior to their game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Ottawa Getting Healthy!

Slowly but surely the Ottawa Senators are getting healthy which could easily set them up for a strong second half. Heading into Pittsburgh tonight for a date with the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins the Senators will have three players who have been chomping at the bit back in action at one hundred percent and ready to contribute. Tending goal will be Pascal Leclaire who was sidelined for a month after breaking his cheekbone. “I’m really excited, especially to get a chance to do it before Christmas,” Leclaire who has a 2.71 GAA in 16 starts this season said. “It’s been a long time, one of those freak things, but it’s behind me and it’s just great being around the guys again and getting a chance to play.”  Also returning is bruising forward Chris Neil who brings that physical element to the team in not just fighting but also dishing out punishing body checks. “I hate watching games, Neil who has five points in 22 games said. “It’s frustrating when you know you’d like to be out there contributing in whatever way you can.”  Even though he will never lead the team in scoring Neil who has spent his entire seven year career with the Senators brings strong leadership skills to the team. “He leads our team in hits by forwards, he’s an intimidating player. He’s played very well-he’s chipped in the odd important goal.” Some more character will be back in the lineup with veteran forward Shean Donovan who has been out since November 20 with a knee injury. Ottawa who are coming off a 2-0 home loss against the Boston Bruins have always had good luck in Pittsburgh where they have won three straight meetings. If you’re a betting man put your money on the Senators tonight.

Ottawa Getting Healthy!

Slowly but surely the Ottawa Senators are getting healthy which could easily set them up for a strong second half. Heading into Pittsburgh tonight for a date with the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins the Senators will have three players who have been chomping at the bit back in action at one hundred percent and ready to contribute. Tending goal will be Pascal Leclaire who was sidelined for a month after breaking his cheekbone. “I’m really excited, especially to get a chance to do it before Christmas,” Leclaire who has a 2.71 GAA in 16 starts this season said. “It’s been a long time, one of those freak things, but it’s behind me and it’s just great being around the guys again and getting a chance to play.”  Also returning is bruising forward Chris Neil who brings that physical element to the team in not just fighting but also dishing out punishing body checks. “I hate watching games, Neil who has five points in 22 games said. “It’s frustrating when you know you’d like to be out there contributing in whatever way you can.”  Even though he will never lead the team in scoring Neil who has spent his entire seven year career with the Senators brings strong leadership skills to the team. “He leads our team in hits by forwards, he’s an intimidating player. He’s played very well-he’s chipped in the odd important goal.” Some more character will be back in the lineup with veteran forward Shean Donovan who has been out since November 20 with a knee injury. Ottawa who are coming off a 2-0 home loss against the Boston Bruins have always had good luck in Pittsburgh where they have won three straight meetings. If you’re a betting man put your money on the Senators tonight.

Ilya Kovalchuk Moving On?

Reflecting on the Atlanta Thrasher’s first half it seemed like only a matter of time before their leader and former 2001 first overall pick Ilya Kovalchuk signed a long term contract. After a successful off season that saw the Thrashers add some much needed offence of Maxim Afinogenov (31 points), Nik Antropov (31 points) and Pavel Kubina (20 points +15) Kovalchuk who is an unrestricted free agent this coming July expressed some special praise towards the team’s GM Don Waddell. Approximately five weeks ago it was music to the management and fan’s ears when the 26 year old expressed how by far this year’s team is the most talented in franchise history. He also expressed his excitement about what they can accomplish this season. Despite feeling rejuvenated and having a chance to play with his good friend Antropov the city of Atlanta received some bad news on Monday when Waddell revealed that contract talks with Kovalchuk hit a snag. “Our position is different than his position right now,” Waddell said. “Their position is fixed years with money and we have a different side of that. That’s what we have to work though.”  Even though the Thrashers are fighting tooth and nail to make the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history Waddell will still negotiate during the regular season with Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman. If the two parties can’t close the gap between now and the March trading deadline then there is a reasonable chance that Kovalchuk who currently leads the team with 37 points could be traded. Good news for Thrashers fans is that their leading franchise point scorer (594) doesn’t want to go anywhere. “It’s a business,” Kovalchuk said. “It’s (management’s) decision, but I like everything here. Like I’ve said a lot of times, I want to play with one team all my life, but you never know.”

Martin Brodeur Simply the Best at 104

It’s now time for the legendary Terry Sawchuk to move over and conceit the all time number one NHL goaltending status to Martin Brodeur. In centuries from now hockey fans and historians will read about the extraordinary history made on December 21, 2009 in Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena when arguably the best goalie of all time Brodeur captivated the hockey world. On this night the 37 year-old who is in his 16^th season made 35 saves in blanking the Penguins 4-0 and in the process touching off a wild celebration in recognition of Brodeur who officially became the all time shutout leader at 104. “I think it will never be broken,” Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said. “It’s hard for a goaltender. They do have a lot of pressure…you get into the playoffs and the run is tough for a goaltender, especially Marty. The thing is, he’s in the net for 60 of the (82) games. It demands a lot. He’s getting older, and he’s still in the net mostly every game, and doing well.” In breaking Sawchuk’s shutout record Brodeur noticed and appreciated the extra emphasis his teammates were putting on defence. With only five minutes to go Pittsburgh had some chances and with only a couple of minutes remaining Penguins captain Sidney Crosby hit the goalpost. “It was almost like winning a playoff game,” Brodeur who now has 580 career wins said. “The guys kept chipping the puck out and everybody was blocking shots everywhere. It was a great effort from my teammates.”  Playing with the all time leader in not only shutouts but also in career wins, minutes played and games started is something that Devils young forward Zach Parise cherishes and will always remember. “All the winning that he’s done, the shutouts, the Cups, it’s unbelievable. It’s great for a guy like me—and all of us at this time—we’re on the ice when all these records are happening. I mean, it’s fun.. I’m sure it’s fun for him but it’s pretty cool for us too.” Brodeur’s biggest challenge came in the third period when he came up big on a couple of golden opportunities from Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. “It’s pretty incredible what he’s done,” Crosby said. “He was on tonight and he’s been a great goalie for a long time.” It looks like this four time Vezina Trophy winner will have this record for quite some time as the closest active goalie is Detroit Red Wing’s Chris Osgood who has 50..

Andrei Markov Shines in his Return

Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script in regards to the dramatic return of Montreal Canadiens defenceman Andrei Markov. Despite missing 35 games due to a serious ankle injury suffered on opening night this 31 year-old looked to be in mid season form in his return last Saturday night against the New York Islanders. Showing true dedication to his team Markov came back two months ahead of schedule and made the difference with two power play goals in what was a 3-0 win. “He’s an all-star defenceman that has great vision and moves the puck well,” Montreal Coach Jacques Martin said. “It’s nice to get a top player back. Those guys are hard to replace. His execution was really outstanding.” Besides for Markov another player who starred against the Islanders was backup goalie Jaroslav Halak who made 40 saves for his struggling club who were in the midst of an ugly five game losing streak. Meanwhile the Islanders who got off to a great start this year have now lost six of their past eight games. “I wasn’t giving up many rebounds tonight,” Halak said. “We were great on the penalty killing blocking the shots. That helped a lot.” Setting the tone early Halak stopped 14 first period shots including a breakaway from Isles speedster Richard Park. In net for the Islanders was veteran Martin Biron who now hasn’t won a game since November 13 against the Carolina Hurricanes. ”I appreciate what all the guys are doing but in the end it’s more important than getting a win for me,” Biron said. “It’s about getting wins for the team and going in the right direction. It isn’t coming easy right now..”

Gustavsson is a Monster Against the Bruins

After what Jonas Gustavsson has gone through it’s hard not to cheer for this 25 year-old rookie. This former Swedish Elite League superstar who last summer signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs showed no rust on Saturday night in coming back from a scary injury to shut out the Boston Bruins by a 2-0 score. “I’m so happy to be back on the ice and back playing at home against the Boston Bruins and have my first NHL shutout,” Gustavsson who missed eight games due to an irregular heartbeat said. That’s not something that happens every day.” Even though this was his second heart issue in a four month span Gustavsson showed no hesitation in resuming what has been a strong rookie season that has seen him post a 3.11 GAA and a .901 save percentage. “He’s worked really hard,” Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson said. “He hasn’t let these medical setbacks bother him at all. He’s pretty stable and obviously has some character to have two heart ablations in addition to the groin injury he suffered. I’m really glad we found a way to get him a shutout.” Toronto who beat Boston for the first time in three tries this season got goals from Tomas Kaberle and Jason Blake as the Leafs rebounded from an ugly 5-2 loss the night before in Buffalo against the Sabres. It was also their first win against the Bruins in seven eight games. Not all was perfect on this night for Toronto as forward Matt Stajan who with 28 points is off to his best start was shaken up but did return after falling victim to a hard controversial hit by Johnny Boychuk. “I was a little dazed,” Stajan said. “I saw him last-second, but all the impact is on my head. He kind of jumped at me. I’m trying to chip it by him and he threw himself at me. I thought he jumped at me and went right at my head.” Boston has now lost four in a row and sit seventh in the Western Conference with 39 points. “You can’t take anything away from a goalie when he gets a shutout, but I don’t think we tested him enough tonight.”

Ottawa Senators

Heading into Christmas the talk in Ottawa is whether Senators forward Mike Fisher will be on the upcoming Canadian Olympic team. This 29 year-old who is coming off a disappointing 32 point season has been getting Olympic consideration after his strong start which has resulted in 28 points in only 31 games. Emerging on the blue line for Ottawa has been Alexandre Picard who has exploded offensively with 13 points in only 28 games. This puts him on pace for a career high of 35 points. Once again captain Daniel Alfredsson has been producing offensively but at the age of 37 time is starting to run out on his chances of hoisting a Stanley Cup in Ottawa. Another great first half story is back -up goaltender Brian Elliot who has performed admirably with starter Pascal Leclaire injured. Elliot has put together a 2.63 GAA in 19 games. In what has been an inconsistent season there have been some first half disappointments starting with forward Jason Spezza. With a chance to earn a spot on the upcoming Olympic team many believed he would have a strong season but that hasn’t been the case. Prior to getting injured Spezza had only five goals and 19 points in 30 games. Prior to this season Spezza was a three time 30 goal scorer. A second forward who has underachieved is Alex Kovalev who after scoring 26 goals and 65 points last year is on pace for a disappointing 18 goals and 47 points. At 36 years of age the question is how much does this veteran have left?

John Tortorella Loses his Head

On Wednesday night New York Rangers coach John Tortorella was his usual fiery self when talking about their 2-1 loss at home against their number one cross town rivals the New York Islanders. What really bothered Tortorella was that his team who haven’t won in five straight games showed no desperation in the first period as they were outshot 10-3 and trailed 1-0 heading to the second. “The thing that’s unacceptable about tonight’s game, and we’re trying to stay positive around here, trying to work our way through it, but when we play like that for 20 minutes in a game like this in a back-to-back situation, it’s unacceptable,” Tortorella said. “There has to be something done, and we’ll see along the way before (Thursday) night’s game. We’ll see where we go with them.”  Meanwhile the Islanders who were coming off a 7-1 drubbing on Monday against the Florida Panthers got goals from Jon Sim and Blake Comeau and a 25 save performance from Dwayne Roloson who came within 55 seconds of recording a shutout. “I don’t care if we win 10-9 or 11-10 or whatever, as long as we win the hockey game,” Roloson said. “We were doing the little things that we had to do to win in the first period and we continued that all the way through for 60 minutes.” This was an important win for Roloson who was didn’t complete Monday’s game after surrendering five goals on only 23 shots. The Rangers who are badly scuffling with a 1-6-2 record in their last nine games have lost both their meetings this season against the Islanders will get another chance on Thursday in Long Island to get some payback.

Bruce Boudreau is Steaming over Matt Green Hit

After spanking the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night all Bruce Boudreau wanted to talk about was the controversial hit that Avalanche forward David Koci delivered on Mike Green. Boudreau who is in his second full season as coach of the Washington Capitals was still worked up when he was asked about his all-star defenceman being the victim of a questionable hit late in the second period. “Please, the guy’s got one goal in six years,” Boudreau said about Koci. “He couldn’t play in the American League. I’m glad he’s making a living, but if this is any game, he gets on the ice for the first three minutes, he gets into his fight with the guy and then he sits at the end of the bench, so what good is he? What really aggravated Boudreau was that Koci took his extended run at Green with the Capitals already leading 5-0. Even though Green was groggy and was bleeding at the temple Green who already has 32 points this season has reassured everyone that he is okay. Koci who has 64 penalty minutes this year received a boarding major and a game misconduct. In the next couple of days or so the four year veteran will more than likely receive a call from league disciplinarian Colin Campbell. Following the game Green kept on saying that he was fine even though he had stitches up his left eye which was severely bruised. “It shows what we have to get rid of to have a good game,” Boudreau said. “The guys that are sitting at the end of the bench and they come out and hit a guy for the sake of ‘I’ve got to run around like an idiot or I’ll never play again. Those are the guys we’ve got to get rid of.” It could have been a lot worse for the Capitals and Green who is a pivotal player on the blue line. No word yet on whether Green will be in the line up on Friday in Vancouver against the Canucks.