NHL Short Notes

1.    REDDEN SUFFERS SHOULDER INJURY

Things went from bad to worse on Wednesday night when New York Rangers defenceman Wade Redden had to leave a game against the Florida Panthers with a shoulder injury. This 32 year-old who was chosen second overall in the 1995 draft by the Ottawa Senators was injured in the first period when he was slammed into the boards by Panthers’ Victor Oreskvich. Redden who has scored one goal and six points this year will miss at least one week. To take the veterans’ play New York has called up Bobby Sanguinetti from Hartford in the AHL.

 2.    LUCIC GOES BACK ON THE DISABLED LIST

Shortly after losing starting goalie Tim Thomas with a broken hand the Boston Bruins suffered another damaging loss when it was announced that bruising forward Milan Lucic will be out with a high ankle sprain. It’s been a tough start for the 21 year old who has scored five points in only 10 games.. Lucic who earlier this season missed some time due to a broken finger suffered his latest injury on Wednesday night in a Bruins victory against the Minnesota Wild. “Hopefully this is the last of his injuries this year,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “It was just a rut in the ice and his foot went the wrong way.”

3.    HEMSKY AWAITING MRI

The sputtering Edmonton Oilers received some bad news last week when scoring forward Ales Hemsky underwent an MRI on his ailing shoulder. This 26 year-old who has scored 22 points this season injured his shoulder in a Wednesday night loss when taken into the boards by Kings forward Michal Handzus. Even though he hasn’t gotten back those MRI results rumours have been swirling that he will need shoulder surgery. “We don’t know what’s going on with him right now,” Oilers forward Andrew Cogliano said. “You lose him and it hurts the team because he’s our best player.”   “.

Dany Heatley in Edmonton Tonight!

Though he won’t say it to the media one can bet that San Jose Sharks scoring forward Dany Heatley is eager to get tonight’s game in Edmonton over with. Even though it’s been roughly four months since the 28 year-old refused a trade to the Oilers odds are that time has not soften the anger fans still feel towards Heatley who will be the target of vocal abuse once he steps onto the ice at Rexall Place. This eight year veteran who is currently the Sharks second leading scorer with 29 points surprised his Ottawa Senators teammates and management last spring when he demanded a trade. At the time Heatley’s reputation took a bit of a hit by not only going public with his demands but also for the fact that in October 2007 he committed himself to Ottawa by signing a lucrative six year extension. Once July rolled around Heatley who was coming off a below average 72 point season angered Edmonton fans when he refused a trade that would have sent forwards Dustin Penner, Andrew Cogliano and defenceman Ladislav Smid to the nation’s capital. A couple of months after refusing the deal the two time 50 goal scorer accepted a trade on September 12 to the San Jose Sharks who currently sit in first place overall with 38 points. Heatley who has scored eight goals and 11 points in his last eight game has developed instant chemistry with big Joe Thornton who leads the Sharks with 33 points. Meanwhile all Edmonton fans can just shake their collective heads and wonder what could have been for their team who have now dropped six of their past eight games. Edmonton scorer Ales Hemsky may not play tonight due to injury and veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is questionable with back spasms. You can bet that Edmonton players along with their fans will have some extra adrenalin on Friday night playing against a superstar who refused to join their Edmonton Oilers.

Jason Spezza Sparks Senators

It’s no secret that if the Ottawa Senators are to have a strong playoff run this coming April then they will need a lot more scoring from first line forward Jason Spezza. On Thursday night at home Ottawa fans witnessed what has been a rare sighting this season and that’s Spezza scoring in what was a 2-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This 2001 first round draft pick who registered 32 goals last season will be heavily counted on in the next little while with Ottawa suffering a rash of injuries to key players such as Mike Fisher and Chris Neil. With the goal Spezza who is on the bubble to make the Canadian Olympic Team ended a nine game goalless drought. Ottawa who are now 13-7-3 on the season and 7-1-1 in their last nine at home faced a red hot Columbus goalie in sophomore Steve Mason who kicked out 34 shots. Late in the third period of a 1-1 game Senators gritty forward Nick Foligno scored a goal that Mason would like to have back. “It came down to the last goal,” said Mason about the wraparound. “It was a bad time to give up a bad goal.” If there was a silver lining for Columbus it’s that Mason who won the Calder Trophy last season had a solid game after struggling for the first twenty plus games. Mason who entered the game with a less than stellar 8-6-3 record and a 3.50 GAA caught the attention of Ottawa coach Cory Clouston with his play. “I thought both goalies played well,” he said. “Both teams played hard and had a lot of chances.” What Clouston and the Sens faithful are hoping for going forward is some more production from Spezza who feels optimistic that this Thursday night goal could be the start of a hot streak. “I feel like I want to produce more offensively,” Spezza said. “It’s a start for me and I felt better going in.”

Fluky Face Injury to Pascal Leclaire

You can excuse Ottawa Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire if for now on he decides to wear a full mask when sitting on the bench. During Monday’s home game against the Washington Capitals Leclaire who was just starting to turn his game around after getting off to an inconsistent start suffered a devastating fluky injury that will keep the 27 year-old out of action for the next month. Leclaire who is a former 2001 Columbus Blue Jackets first round pick was sitting on the bench and talking to the trainer when all of the sudden he got hit in the face by an errant puck. ”I didn’t even see it coming,” Leclaire who has 8 wins this season and a 2.71 GAA said. “I was talking to one of our trainers and it hit me like a baseball bat. It hurt quite a bit and I was dazed for awhile.” This is just the latest setback for Leclaire who played only 12 games last season due to a lower body and an ankle injury. There is no doubt that this injury will start the debate about whether backup goalies should perhaps wear a helmet on the bench as opposed to just a baseball cap. With Ottawa battling tooth and nail for a playoff spot there is no doubt that this costly loss can end up costing them a playoff spot once spring rolls around. “That’s a terrible break for (Leclaire) and for us,” Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. “He’s played really well when he has been called upon and we feel comfortable with him playing without question.”

George Laraque Gets 5

Tough guy Georges Laraque insisted that what happened on Saturday night was purely an accident. This 11 year veteran who is in his second year as the Montreal Canadiens bruiser found himself in hot water with the league after an ugly incident where he stuck out his leg and tripped Detroit Red Wings hard hitting defenceman Niklas Kronwall who sustained a badly sprained MCL in his left knee. ”There is no ACL damage and that’s good news,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said about Kronwall who will miss at least a month. “They are saying it’s between a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 sprain; Grade 3 being the most severe.” This is a significant loss for Detroit as Kronwall supplies not only toughness on the backend but also some offence as he was on pace for a respectable 50 point season. After the incident Laraque received only a two minute minor for tripping. As a result of not getting a match Laraque stated that he wasn’t worried about a possible suspension because of not being accessed a match penalty.  Holland on the other hand knew that there was a good chance that the league would dish out some sort of disciplinary action. “The league called me (Saturday night),” Holland said. “Obviously, they are looking into it. They told me they saw the hit and they requested that I let them know the extent of Nik’s injury.” Knee injuries aren’t a new thing for Kronwall who had to undergo extensive knee surgery back in 2005. The ruling came down on Monday and not surprisingly the big Canadiens forward was given a five game suspension.

Dwayne Roloson Still Sharp at 40

Veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson showed that even at 40 years of age he can still steal a game or two for his New York Islanders. This 12 year veteran who signed last summer as a free agent was the story on Monday night as he made an astounding 58 saves to lead the Islanders to a 4-3 overtime win. “We can thank Roloson for the win tonight,” said Islanders rookie John Tavares. “Roloson made all the saves for us tonight.”  Roloson who was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames back in 1994 improved on the season to 7-2-5 and made a statement that he hasn’t lost much due to age. On the night this experienced veteran who went 2-0-2 on the Islanders road trip made 20 saves in the first period 14 in the second 21 in the third and three in overtime. Even with his teammates heaping him with heavy praise Roloson was very casual and modest when talking about his performance. “To me, it’s just another night, another game,” Roloson said. “It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s one shot or 100 shots, I’ve got to do the same things, try to give my team a chance to win.”  In analyzing the game Islanders coach Scott Gordon knew that his team who were badly outshot 61-21 on the night were lucky to have stolen two points from the Leafs. Gordon who is in his second year behind the Islanders bench was critical about his team’s performance in the face-off circle and their third period play. “I can’t say enough about how well Toronto played,” Gordon said. “We couldn’t win a faceoff and they kept coming at us with speed. That third period was all them, they gave a tremendous effort out there. We can thank our goalie tonight.”  After their seven game road trip which saw them go 3-2-2 the Islanders return home for games against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.

Steve Stamkos Is Striking Lightning

Sophomore forward Steve Stamkos continues to show why he should be a serious candidate to make Team Canada for the upcoming 2010 winter Olympics. After enduring some growing pains as a rookie this former 2008 first overall Tampa Bay Lightning pick has blossomed this season and continues to get even better. On Sunday night this 19 year-old was the overtime hero as his 15^th goal of the season gave Tampa Bay a 4-3 road win against the Atlanta Thrashers. Even though the Lightning couldn’t hold a couple of third period leads Stamkos who is the team leader in goals had a positive perspective when talking about the game. “From a team perspective, I thought we played pretty solid and stuck to the game plan,” he said. “We got lots of shots on net.” Continuing his impressive play against the Thrashers was goalie Antero Niittymaki who had 28 saves on the night and is now 15-0-0 lifetime against the Thrashers. On the season Nittymaki has been a pleasant surprise as he improved his record to 6-1-3 with an eye popping .936 save percentage and a 2.02 GAA. Having lost their previous two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks this was a huge two points for Tampa Bay who will be life and death to make the playoffs. Still the Lightning know that they might have gotten a bit lucky in blowing a couple of leads and still coming out with the win. “It’s just a matter of protecting the lead,” Stamkos said. “We can’t expect to do that and win overtime after giving up those two goals.”

Jarome Iginla Sparks the Flames

Once again Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla showed why his coach Brent Sutter often refers to him as the best captain in the National Hockey League. Approximately 48 hours after being spanked 7-1 at home by the Chicago Blackhawks Iginla who is a two time 50 goal scorer led by example on Saturday afternoon when he registered his ninth career hat trick in what was a convincing 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings. “We were assertive, we played an intelligent game, and we were smart,” Sutter said. “Iginla played a whale of a game, just not the fact that he scored. He was just rock solid in a lot of areas.” This big performance by the captain couldn’t have come at a better time as the Flames who are fourth in the Western Conference with 28 points had some tense moments between certain players and coaches after that ugly lose to the Blackhawks. What really impressed the captain was the penalty killing unit who after surrendering four short-handed goals to the Blackhawks rebounded in not allowing any against the Kings. “They worked hard all night and were so determined,” Iginla who scored a goal in each period said. Not only did Calgary shut down the Kings power play but they also did one better as Flames forward Daymond Langkow scored short- handed. Also replying for the Flames was David Moss. Another good sign for the Flames was that their number one goalie Mikka Kiprusoff who struggled against the Hawks rebounded in a big way with 23 saves.. Iginla who is on pace for 49 goals scored that first goal 13 seconds in which he believes set the tone. “Scoring that early we were all pretty excited,” he said. “Especially after a tough last game, to have an early start like that, in an afternoon game, was a big boost.” Los Angeles who are tied in the standings with Calgary did get some positive news as young forward Alexander Frolov ended a 10 game scoring drought as he scored along with defenceman Drew Doughty.

Owen Nolan Still Scoring at 37

Veteran forward Owen Nolan showed on Friday that even at age 37 this 400 plus goal scorer still has plenty of gas left in the tank. This former 1990 Quebec Nordiques first overall pick registered two goals including the game winner on Friday night as the Minnesota Wild ended an ugly spell with a pivotal 3-2 win again the New York Islanders. Heading into play Minnesota who are only six points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference was in the midst of a four game losing streak that saw them go 0-2-2. Nolan who now has 410 career goals led by example as he scored the winner with only 67 seconds left and also made some pivotal shot blocks. Minnesota who were called out a few days earlier by coach Todd Richards following an ugly loss to the Phoenix Coyotes were all fired up on this night as they outhit the Islanders by a 23-6 count after two periods. Nolan who is the oldest player on Minnesota scored his first goal in the first period for the Wild’s 12th first period goal in 22 games this season. “He’s been a leader by example. It’s every day in practice,” Richards said. “You ask the players to do things out on the ice, and he’s the first one doing it.” Meanwhile the Islanders who have been one of the pleasant surprises lost their first in six games. The glaring statistic that jumped out at Islanders coach Scott Gordon was that his team got shutout in six power play opportunities. “I thought that we had some great chances that we just didn’t cash in on,” Gordon who has his captain Doug Weight out of the lineup said. “If we cash in on them, point-blank opportunities, we’re not even talking about giving up a bad goal in the third.” After winning only one of their first 10 games New York has played some solid hockey as they’ve gone 3-1-2 in their last six games. This night however belonged to the grizzled veteran Nolan who showed his tremendous heart. “This game is the way it is sometimes,” Islanders goalie Martin Biron whose team had a 2-1 lead after two periods said. You let some opportunities slip, and you lose these types of games. Come April the Islanders who are currently in a log jam for that eighth and final playoff spot might look back on this game and shake their heads if they fall one or two points short of qualifying.

Brendan Shanahan Leaves the Game He Loves on Top

As I reflect on the stellar career of three time Stanley Cup champion Brendan Shanahan my favourite memory is one that actually happened off the ice. As far as I’m concerned this 656 goal scorer who recently retired after a stellar 21 year career scored his biggest goal back in 1996 when he went out of his way to create a life- long memory with a die- hard hockey fan in me. At the time I was staying in a Montreal hotel where by coincidence Team Canada was staying. It was late August and various players such as Keith Primeau, Adam Graves, Joe Sakic and Shanahan were in town to prepare for the upcoming late summer tournament that the Americans would eventually win. One weekend afternoon I passed by the dining lounge where to my amazement Shanahan was eating by himself. To my utter amazement after seeing the hostess stopping me from getting an autograph this rugged winger showed his tender side by waiving through then going that extra mile in inviting me to sit down at his table where we went on to talk about hockey. To my amazement this Mimico Ontario native began asking me questions about who my favourite team and players were. It was only a three minute conversation but it was a generous gesture made by a superstar that I still cherish to this day. This eight time all-star who ranks 11^th all time in goal scoring was always consistent throughout his career. In six seasons this future hall of famer scored 40 or more goals including a career high of 52 in 1994. Shanahan who is affectionately known as ‘Shanny’ was originally selected second overall in 1987 by the New Jersey Devils. After a four year stint in Jersey this gritty left winger who accumulated 1,354 total points signed as a free agent in 1991 with the St. Louis Blues. After a year stint with the Hartford Whalers Shanahan was about to receive a huge break in getting traded to a Detroit Red Wings team that was on the verge of becoming a dynasty.. Coming to the Motor City in October 1996 Shanahan went on to realize his ultimate dream as he became a three time Stanley Cup winner during his nine seasons with Detroit. In 2002 this humble player made history as he became the first ever to win a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal in the same year. In the twilight of his career Shanahan also spent time with the New York Rangers and last season ended his career where he started with the New Jersey Devils. Though people will best remember him for scoring goals and lifting the Stanley Cup, with me it will always be for taking the time to show some interest in a wide eyed fan who to this day remembers every detail of that long ago encounter.