Ice Chips: Week 10
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The on-again, off-again Lightning are currently in on-mode with an 8-0 spanking of the Atlanta Thrashers. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis both had five points, but Brad Richards hasn’t been able to shake his season-long slump.”
In Carolina, Cory Stillman is on the brink of returning. That’s good news, because the Canes lost captain Rod Brind’amour to an infamous “Lower Body Injury.” Carolina, like most of the Southeast Division, is still trying to find some consistency, and the reliable Stillman should help.
San Jose’s Mark Bell is already having a bad season and it just got worse — he’ll be charged with DUI and hit-and-run from an alleged incident over Labour Day weekend with a potential sentence of three years, eight months. Surprisingly, Bell’s actually been playing with some spark lately, so maybe he knows something about the legal system we don’t.
The Martin Havlat watch continues…again. Yes, he may even touch the ice in the next day or two. Stay tuned.
Rumors coming out of Chicago have the Blackhawks trying to bring back Kyle Calder. If you recall, Calder was sent to Philly for Michael Handzus. By now, Philly would probably give away Calder just to be rid of his cap hit.
What will it take to fix Peter Forsberg? Of all of the many, many ailments he’s been dealing with this season, now he’s listed as out with a bad case of the flu.
Fun fact of the day: the Vancouver Canucks have scored fewer goals than the St. Louis Blues. ‘Nucks fans feared a poor offensive threat this season, but I don’t think anyone figured it would be this bad.
Pierre Turgeon and his overpaid/over-the-hill skills are back in the lineup for Colorado. Just in case…you know…anyone cared.
Pour some 40 on the floor for Joe Nieuwendyk, whose great career came to an end after battling continuous back problems. This gives the already-struggling Florida attack even bigger problems than before.
For those fantasy teams in desperate need of a goalie, grab newest Coyote Mikael Tellqvist. He’s not going to win you many games but at least he’ll get points for saves.
You can’t stop…Viktor Freakin’ Kozlov. The lumbering Russian has a mighty 10 points in his past seven games, and it only took him, oh, about a decade to reach his potential.
You think Anson Carter likes Ken Hitchcock? Since Hitch joined the Blue Jackets, Carter’s averaged better than a point per game.
Break up the Bruins, they’re hot! Brad Stuart finally remembered he’s in a contract year and decided to show up, and Shean Donavon of all people is helping to lead the way.
Who’s gone dead cold? Try Corey Perry in Anaheim — two points in his last 11 games, and Eric Lindros in Dallas — five points in his last 12 games.
Phil Kessell finally broke an eight-game pointless streak to give him nine points in 26 games, putting him well behind Evgeni Malkin and others for the Calder race.
The Week Ahead
- Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin resumes on Monday with the Pens and Caps. Thankfully, someone smart decided to put this on national TV.
- The Senators take a swing through the Central Division. Maybe they’ll inspire the Blue Jackets to emulate Ottawa’s “back from the dead” season.
- The Ducks hit the road through the Southeast Division. Here’s betting that they take all three games next week.
- The Hurricanes take on the Avalanche Monday night. No word if ex-WWF wrestlers Earthquake and Typhoon will join in the fun.
