Games of the Week:
This Sunday afternoon affair is a rematch of this year's Winter Classic game which saw the Rangers come away with a 3-2 win. The Flyers are just three points behind the New York who lead both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. While Mike Rupp was the hero in the New Year's Day outdoor game, look for a return to norm as stars such as Claude Giroux and Marian Gaborik should provide most of the offence in what should be a fast and physical game.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Bruins, 1pm, Saturday, February 4
Pittsburgh enters the week on a league-best seven game win streak, while the Bruins have lost three of their last five. Evgeni Malkin has been the best player so far this year, and his Penguins will hope the All-Star break won't affect the Russian superstar's hot pace. Meanwhile Boston will look to add to their four point Northeast Division lead and attempt to catch the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. This game could represent a preview of a playoff matchup, and a meeting between these two top-tier Eastern Conference teams should not be missed.
2. Philadelphia Flyers @ New York Rangers, 1pm, Sunday, February 5
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| Brad Richards' goal was the difference in this year's Winter Classic |
3. Toronto Maple Leafs @ Ottawa Senators, 7pm, Saturday
The battle of Ontario resumes on Hockey Night in Canada this Saturday. Fresh off the constant heckles and jeers from Sens fans during All-Star weekend, Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul will return to Ottawa with their Leafs, who are locked in a three-way tie for seventh in the East. Ottawa finds themselves tied with the Penguins for fifth in the East and five points ahead of the three teams at 55 points, but they have played 52 games this year, two more than Pittsburgh and Toronto. The Sens may have the edge in this one, as they are 3-1 in the season series and have a solid 14-9-1 home record, while the Leafs are 11-11-1 on the road.
Five Things to Watch for this Week:
1. Detroit was the best team in the league leading into the All-Star break, winning nine of their 12 games in January with a date at Calgary as their lone remaining game this month. The Wings had won seven straight before being blown out 7-2 by the Canadiens in their last game before the All-Star weekend. Needless to say, this wasn't the return to Montreal coach Mike Babcock had in mind. The Saskatoon native was the McGill University Redmen captain in the mid-80s and shows support for his alma mater frequently in the form of his lucky McGill tie. The tie, which was worn in the goal medal game in the 2010 Olympics and Detroit's Stanley Cup win in 2008, did not prove lucky in the city of its origin. Look for Babcock to use this Montreal disappointment to light a fire under his veteran team and help Detroit widen the gap between them and their Central Division foes in February. Babcock has won an average of 46.6 games in his eight seasons as an NHL head coach, making the Finals three times, winning one Cup and missing the playoffs only once, in 2003-04 with Anaheim.
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| 1987 McGill Redmen captain Mike Babcock |
2. The Sidney Crosby mystery took a surprising turn this week, as it was announced that an abnormality was discovered in the star centre's C1 and C2 vertebrae. This news came after Crosby visited California spine specialist Dr. Robert Bray last week. Crosby agent, Pat Brisson, was quoted saying "the possibility of two fractured vertebrae was discovered." Dr. Bray's findings stated that the injury to his neck has fully healed, and the Penguins say these findings will be "evaluated by independent specialists over the next few days." The fact that a neck injury was detected is both troubling and promising; Crosby has been dealing with concussion-like symptoms for more than a year and only now is the report of a neck injury in addition to the concussion coming out. That is a long time for a vertebral abnormality to go undetected by a supposedly elite Penguin medical staff. Not to mention that it took New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to recommend Crosby to Dr. Bray. On the other hand, the fact that the neck injury has healed is a good sign for the Penguins and the future of their captain. He also skated prior to the Pens' practice this Monday, another encouraging sign. If Sid the Kid can somehow return this season, the Pens will be a scary team going into the playoffs considering the season Evgeni Malkin is having.
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| New revelations have come to light regarding Sidney Crosby's injury |
3. The Central Division has been the best in hockey this season, as four of its five members are in a playoff spot and make up four of the best seven point totals in the league standings. Not surprisingly then, the Central Division has the highest point total average of any in the league with 58.4, with the Atlantic Division next at 57.8. This is slightly more impressive when you consider the Columbus Blue Jackets significantly weigh down the Central teams' average with a league-worst 32 points, nine points behind the closest team. While Detroit is the league's best team, St. Louis, Nashville and Chicago make up the fourth, fifth and sixth positions in the Western Conference. These four teams have also been tremendous at home this season, with a combined record of 76-18-12 in their own barns. Expect these teams to be major factors come April when the playoffs begin, and don't be surprised if a first round matchup pits two of these Central powerhouses against each other.
4. The Vancouver Canucks sit at second in the Western Conference, but have a tough eight days ahead of them. The Canucks will play four games over this span, with three of them against Central teams Chicago, Detroit and Nashville. The Canucks faced the Blackhawks and the Predators in last year's playoffs, which should provide entertaining match ups this week, while their game with the Red Wings is an honourable mention for game of the week. Their other game is against fellow Northwest Division team Colorado, who are ninth place in the West and one point out of a playoff spot, and should not be taken lightly. Henrik and Daniel Sedin have 52 and 51 points respectively, while the "American Express" line of Ryan Kesler, Chris Higgins and David Booth have a combined 76 points, which is more impressive when you consider Booth has only played in 29 games this year. The Canucks are in no danger of losing grip on their division lead, as the next-best team, the Wild, are eleven points behind Vancouver. That being said, this week should be a good litmus test for the Canucks if they hope to erase the agony of a game seven home loss in the Stanley Cup Finals last season.
5. The race for the final few Eastern Conference playoff spots resembles that of a bottleneck as four teams are tied with 55 points. Washington owns the tie break with Florida at the moment, as the Caps sit at third place in the East while having the same point total as the ninth place Maple Leafs. The Capitals will face the Panthers this Wednesday in a game that should provide some insight into this tight battle. Washington has uncharacteristically struggled with scoring goals this season, while everyone is waiting for Florida's Scott Clemmensen - Jose Theodore goaltending tandem to fall apart. These will be interesting story lines to follow for these teams' remaining 34 games. New Jersey is the other 55-point team in the East, and the main focus of this team is what they will do with Zach Parise. While most feel that the Devils won't trade the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, that all could change if the Devils fall out of the picture before the February 27th trade deadline. The Leafs meanwhile have been linked to trade rumours surrounding James van Riemsdyk, and should want to add an upfront threat in hopes of making a significant playoff impact. It will be interesting to watch which of these four teams will emerge as legitimate playoff teams and buyers at the deadline, and which will slide in the standings and become deadline sellers.
Look Back at Last Week:
Three Stars: 1. Sergei Bobrovsky; 2. Claude Giroux; 3. Scott Clemmensen
The Flyers broke their streak of six shootout losses dating back to last season as Claude Giroux beat Scott Clemmensen for the only goal of the shootout. Off-season additions Braydon Schenn and Jakub Voracek scored the Flyers' two regulation goals as the the Panthers fell to 4-6-5 in their last fifteen games.
Three Stars: 1. Pavel Datsyuk; 2. Jaroslav Halak; 3. Jimmy Howard
The Blues had the edge for the first period until Chris Stewart reacted to Brad Stuart's hit on Alex Pietrangelo and wound up with seventeen penalty minutes, giving the Wings a power play to start the 2nd period. Pavel Datsyuk made St. Louis pay with a gorgeous power play goal 51 seconds into the second period, and Detroit never looked back. Goals by Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall secured the win for the Wings, giving them their 17th straight win at Joe Louis.
Three Stars: 1. Kevin Klein; 2. Sergei Kostitsyn; 3. Marian Hossa
With Patrick Sharp out and Jonathan Toews leaving the game halfway through with a wrist injury, the Predators took advantage and beat up on the Hawks 5-2. The win gave Nashville a victory in 10 of their last 12 games and tightened the Central Division standings, as now just three points separate the first place Red Winggs and the fourth place Blackhawks. Kitchener native Kevin Klein scored his third goal of the season to go along with an assist, while Marian Hossa scored both goals for Chicago.
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