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Monday, October 31, 2011

Goals of the Week

There are definitely some good ones this week, probably the best week of the year

5. Mikael Grabovski vs. Montreal
4. Thomas Vanek vs. Florida
3. Nick Foligno vs. Florida
2. Matt Duchene vs. Los Angeles
1. David Backes vs Edmonton

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Quick Hits: October 29th

After a slow night last night (only 4 games), we'll cover what happened last night as well as upcoming storylines this weekend.

NHL.com: EJ Hradek writes about how a few hyped players and one hyped team aren't quite living up to expectations.

TSN: My fantasy hockey team is saved as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be staying with the Oilers.

Puck Daddy: Can't really explain this one. Just go to it. Brendan Shannahan mania would be my best effort to describe it

Stltoday.com: The Blues have a new owner on top of the Cardinals winning the World Series. A begrudging congratulations to them and all their fans.

Ottawa Sun: Kyle Turris' trade demands have piqued the interest of the Sens.

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Friday, October 28, 2011

Staying at 18


4 players drafted in this last NHL draft are here for the long haul as their respective teams have decided to keep them on the roster. each player at only 18 years of age will continue this season with their NHL clubs.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: selected #1 overall by the Edmonton Oilers, Nugent-Hopkins has shown plenty of promise. The main knock on him coming into this season was his weight, though that hasn't stopped him from playing his game. in only his first 9 games he's already scored 5 goals and 4 assists (9 points), which includes his first career hat trick, and a +3. He will center 1 of the top 2 lines for the Oilers this season.

Gabriel Landeskog: selected #2 overall by the Colorado Avalanche, Landeskog had the size and intangibles to make it this season, but no more speculation, he's here for good. scoring 4 goals and 2 assists (6 points) with a +2, Landeskog has been off to a great start and looks to keep that strong play to continue all season long. look for him to stay on 1 of the top 2 lines on the wing.

Adam Larsson: selected at #4 by the New Jersey Devils, the 6'3 200lbs swedish defenceman, much like Landeskog, was expected to crack the club this year, and he did. Helping a D-corps that severely needed some help in New Jersey, Larsson brings size and skill to the backend, looking to be the backbone of the D-corps for years to come. Larsson is still trying for that first NHL point.

Sean Couturier
: Selected by the Philadelphia Flyers at #8 overall, after aquiring that pick from the Blue Jackets in a trade, Couturier is a big kid with plenty of skill, and he's shown it. He'll be center the 3rd line most likely for the Flyers, which is impressive to say the least with how much depth they have on that team, this will make things much more difficult for injured future-star Brayden Schenn. scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in 10 games, to go with a strong +5, Couturier uses his size and skill to create opportunities for him and his team mates and will be looking for continued success as the season progresses.

The Big Debate: Visors in the NHL

Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers falls to the ice after being hit in the face by a stick during the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday in Philadelphia.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images



On Monday night, Philadelphia Flyers captain Chris Pronger took a stick to the eye courtesy of Nikolai Kulemin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Soon after, it was determined that Pronger would miss 10 days, and would be restricted to bed rest, which was announced by Philadelphia GM Paul Holmgren. This sparked a firestorm among the media outlets of the NHL, and the hot topic of the week has been making helmet visors mandatory. Popular among European players, not to mention mandatory at the college level (full face shields) and in the AHL, the visor hasn't been so quick to catch on with North American players. However, progress is being made according to a tweet by Darren Dreger which stated that roughly 70% of NHL players wear a visor. This is not good enough for some people; there are many out there calling for a mandatory visor rule and just as many that think that notion is a bunch of hogwash. We'll cover both sides of the debate, and you'll hear my opinion as well. See the great helmet visor debate after the jump.


Monday, October 24, 2011

Quick with 3 straight Shutouts!


LA Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick just completed his 3rd straight shutout after defeating the divisional rival Dallas Stars and turning away all 28 shots. his 1st shutout this season was against the St. Louis Blues, stopping all 27 shots. the 2nd shutout coming against another divisional rival in the Phoenix Coyotes, blocking all 28 shots. Quick is now 5-0-1 on the season. He's 3rd in the league in wins (tied with Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury). 2nd in the league in GAA (goals against avg.) with a stunning 0.81, only behind Oilers goalie Khabibulin who's only played 4 games compared to Quick's 6. naturally, first in the league in shutouts with 3, no other goalie thusfar have multiple shutouts except for Quick. As well as a league leading .972 SV%. Jonathan Quick will have to wait for now to collect a possible 4th straight shutout, kings coach bob murray is starting jonathen bernier on tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. This is the first time in Kings history that a goalie has had 3 straight shutouts and first time in the league since Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets did it back in the '08 season. Quick was named the NHL's 1st star of the week.

Goals of the Week

5. Joe Pavelski vs. Bruins

4. Jamie Benn vs. Blue Jackets

3. Martin St. Louis goal vs. Sabres
 


The rest of the best after the jump.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Breaking Down the Booth-to-Vancouver trade



Panthers GM Dale Tallon is at it again. He is hard at work tinkering with his blueprint to turn around a franchise that has been far too inept for far too long, the Florida Panthers. This time, he has traded one of the few players who was around during the pre-Tallon era, David Booth, to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forwards Marco Sturm and Mikael Samuelsson. Also going to Vancouver is a 3rd round pick for 2013 and forward Steven Reinprecht along with his beautiful head, who has been on loan overseas for the past 2 seasons. I'll be analyzing this trade piece-by-piece and delivering the final verdict on who got the better of the deal. Check it out after the jump.


Monday, October 17, 2011

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Goals of The Week

5. Claude Giroux goal vs. Boston

4. Brad Richards goal vs. Anaheim

See the rest of the scintillating goals of the week after the jump.



Peter Forsberg and the Legacy he Leaves Behind


Last night, the Colorado Avalanche had a night in honor of Peter Forsberg that, unfortunately for Avs fans, was ruined by the Red Wings of Detroit. Although Colorado could not pull off the victory, it still was a great night for a player who, along with Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy, led the Avalanche to prominence and established them as one of the most formidable teams in the NHL from the mid-90's until the lockout of 2005. Peter Forsberg leaves the game of hockey arguably the greatest Swedish hockey player of all time; I believe that an argument could also be made for Nicklas Lidstrom. Forsberg's unparallelled stickhandling and tireless work ethic along with incredible strength made him one of the toughest players to scout in the NHL. There was a period of 7 or 8 years or so where no matter what you couldn't keep him off the scoreboard. He was a perennial all star and was always in the conversation of the top 10 forwards in the NHL. His 885 career NHL points will always remind us of what could have been. Although Forsberg had all the talent in the world, his unfortunate career-long battle with a chronic, nagging foot injury is what some people will remember about him. For all the skills he possessed, the biggest challenge for him was staying out of the trainer's room. But for when he was on the ice, he was always the go-to guy for the Avs. There never was and will never ever be another Peter Forsberg. We here at Toe Drag wish him well in his life after hockey and maybe hope to see him in an analyst's role sometime in the future.

3 days in and already 4 shutouts


it's only 5-days into the NHL regular season and we've witnessed an impressive 4-shutouts from 4 different goaltenders, let's take a look:

James Reimer: the toronto maple leafs goaltender was the 1st to get a shutout, stopping 32 shots from the montreal canadiens in the maple leafs first game of the season, in front of the home crowd. reimer went on to gain "1st star of the game" honors.

Ilya Bryzgalov: the philadelphi flyers goaltender picked up a shutout in their 2nd game of the season against the new jersey devils (after defeating the boston bruins in their 1st game) on the road, bryzgalov stopped all 20 shots that came his way and was the 1st star of the game.

Jose Theodore: making his florida panthers debut, the veteran goaltender stopped all 27 shots, blanking the new york islanders in long island.

Ty Conklin: the detroit red wings goalie stopped all 29 shots, helping the red wings defeat the colorado avalanche, spoiling peter forsberg night for the colorado fans.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Tweeting During Games

AFP PHOTO / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND


Many games throughout the year, I'll be doing commmentary and talking about the games on twitter. You can follow the guys from Toe Drag @toedraghockey. Today I'll be gamecasting the Rangers and Ducks game in Stockholm, so follow us on twitter if you can't catch the game on tv or just want to hear some opinions. So far it's no score in the first, but both teams have had their chances. So head on over to twitter and follow @toedraghockey as soon as you can.

Friday, October 7, 2011

5 Things We Learned From Last Night's Games


(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)


Last night, the NHL dropped the puck on its 95th season, each team starting with a clean slate and beginning the long month grind on the road to the postseason and for one lucky team, a championship. I noticed a few things during last night's game, so after the jump I'll tell you a bit about last night's odds and ends if you happened to not stay up or did not get the chance to watch every game. More after the jump.


Thursday, October 6, 2011

It's Time!

Ok Folks, it's been a while but we're ready to go finally! Regular season starts in 15 minutes and I hope you'll all be watching! I will be. After the games I'll post a column about tonight's games so make sure to check back after the games or tomorrow morning if you can't stay up for the late games. We're getting set to go here so make sure you all tune in to Vs. or TSN and make tonight a hockey night.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Top 10 young players to watch for this season


Logan Couture (2nd yr) : drafted 9th overall in the '07 draft by the san jose sharks, the kid continued to develop well in the OHL with the ottawa 67's, scores 39G and 87P in his final year there. after a short call-up stint in the '09-'10 season he completed his first year of pro hockey int he AHL, scoring 53pts in 42games. and in his first full season in the NHL scores 32G and 56pts. the kid never dissapoints, can very well improve on those numbers centering the 2nd line for a strong san jose team.

Jeff Skinner (2nd yr): drated 7th overall in last years draft, makes the club in his first year as an 18 year old, and tears it up, putting up 31G and 63pts in his first season. did i mention he also scored 50G and 90pts in his draft year in the OHL? kid has insane skills and he will only get better.

Michael Grabner (2nd yr): drafted 14th overall in the '06 draft, couldn't really find his way through the vancouver canucks depth, was later shipped off to florida in the ballard deal but after a lousey showing in training camp and pre-season dale tallon decided to release him. the new york islanders took a chance on him and boy did it pay off. in his first full season he managed to string 34G and 52pts together. can he keep up the good play in his 2nd season?

More after the Jump.


Gordon's Preseason NHL Power Rankings

Puck Daddy Season Preview 2011-12: Winnipeg Jets
(Image from Puck Daddy)

The 2011-2012 NHL season is upon us. Heading into this Thursday, here's a list of how the NHL's teams stack up against each other:

5 Players To Watch in 2011-12

Mike Richards's adjustment to life in the City of Angels will be something to keep an eye on.


So, the week is finally here. The week that teams finally shake off the offseason rust and hit the ice and play games that actually count in the standings. Unbelievable that it's been almost half a year since all 30 teams have been playings hockey, but boy are we glad that it's 3 days away! I will be posting something every day in order to get everyone hyped for the season opener on Thursday, not that any hype is needed anyway. Many teams will be in action and there will be many storylines depending on what team you root for, but in my opinion these 5 players will be the most interesting to watch this season for all kinds of reasons. See who you should keep an eye on and why after the jump.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Rowe's top 5 possible candidates for the Vezina


Bryzgalov: putting up incredible numbers and being one of the leagues best goaltenders for the last few years, ilya bryzgalov is looking to have a big year for a strong philadelphia team. though the flyers lost top center jeff carter and captain mike richards, they made up for it by picking up young wingers wayne simmonds and jakub voracek, as well as one of hockeys top prospects in brayden schenn. to go along with briere, giroux, hartnell, van riemsdyk, and czech legend jaromir jagr, the flyers shouldn't be hurting for goals, and with one of the leagues best defenses in front of him bryzgalov will pick up a lot of wins as well as putting up fantastic numbers in every category.

luongo: for some time now, luongo has consistently been in the leagues top-3 goalies. after losing to the boston bruins in game 7 of the stanley cup luongo will look for another trip to compete for the coveted trophy. with one of the leagues best offenses and a solid defense to go along with his natural talents luongo is primed to have, yet again, another incredible season, is this the year he finally wins the vezina? i wouldnt be surprised.

thomas: last years vezina trophy winner, and winner of 2 of the last 3, thomas has shown he is one of the leagues best goaltenders if not THE best. defending champion of the stanley cup and playoff mvp award (conn smyth award) he has shown he can pretty much do it all, though he isn't the youngest goaltender out there, he has shown he can lead a team and consistently play well. look for another strong season out of thomas even with rask behind him.

miller: winner of the vezina 2 years ago, millers buffalo sabres have made vast improvements to this years squad. picking up defensemen christian ehrhoff and veteran robyn regehr, to go along with one of the leagues best young dmen in tyler myers, the sabres have assembled a strong D corp in buffalo as well as bolstering their offense, making this years team one of the best in the east. even though buffalo has jonas enroth, who played fantastic in his appearences last season, still expect to see miller get a vast majority of the starts, which spells a lot of wins for him.

vokoun: consistenly putting up strong numbers regardless of the team in front of him, vokoun will look to have a strong season for the washington capitals. even playing for the florida panthers, which meant facing many shots and not having a stellar D in front of him he still managed to put up very solid numbers in all his seasons there. now he's on one of the best teams in the league, if not the best, combined with his talents, vokoun will look to take a majority of the starts, competeing with youngster michal neuvirth, and try to get the capitals back to stanley cup for the first time in a long time.

my pick: as of now i say bryzgalov, but we'll see as the season progresses. right now he's my favorite for the award.

Drew Doughty signs: 8yrs for 56mil


Drew Doughty of the LA Kings finally signs a long term deal, 8 years for 56 million dollars.