TOP STORY
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
(Photo Credit: AP)
Alexander Ovechkin rallies the Caps from a 4-0 to deficit to stuff the Rangers stocking at MSG
Washington Capitals (21-11-3) over the New York Rangers (22-12-3) 5-4 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Capitals LW Alexander Ovechkin - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
If you're a Capitals fan, you got an early Christmas gift last night. If you're a Rangers fan, you didn't get a lump of coal in your stocking...you got a lump of coal thrown right at your face. It's rare that a team blows a four goal lead, especially at home, but the Rangers managed to do just that and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Madison Square Garden last night.
Madison Square Garden was buzzing after the 1st period. Markus Naslund, Michal Rozsival, and Ryan Callahan all scored goals to make 3-0 heading in to the break. Ryan Callahan scored his 2nd goal of the game at the 4:48 mark to make it 4-0. I was at this game and you could almost see the Rangers let off the gas pedal a little bit at this point. Alexander Ovechkin scored midway through the 2nd period to make it 4-1 heading in to the intermission. In the 3rd period, both Tomas Fleischmann and Viktor Kozlov scored power play goals to bring it within one goal. With just over 7 minutes remaining, Ovechkin stole a pass at the Rangers blue line and scored on a beautiful move to tie the game. In overtime, Shaone Morrison scored the game winning goal (his 1st of the season) on a blast from the top of the circles. Nicklas Backstrom and Chris Drury each chipped in with three assists for their respective teams.
The Rangers are simply a bad team right now. They are on that pattern of win three, lose two, win one, lose two, win two, etc. They are wildly inconsistent and, like I've said in previous columns, they don't play full hockey games. They either play the first two periods and then coast the rest of the way, or sleepwalk through the first two periods and fire on all cylinders for the 3rd period. The Rangers record is incredibly deceiving because they haven't played to that level this season. Head Coach Tom Renney needs to figure out something soon because this level of play won't last long in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers are off until Saturday night when they host the cross-river rival Devils.
If you're a Capitals fan, life is pretty good right now. Despite a rash of injuries (most of the scratches will return soon), the Capitals are playing very good hockey lately. Factor in that they play in a relatively weak division, the Caps could be running away with the Southeast by mid-March. The only issue in DC, and it's a big one right now, is their goaltending. Brent Johnson was supposed to start the game, then Jose Theodore got the call at the last second, gave up 3 goals, was yanked for Johnson for the remainder of the 1st period, and then Theodore was put back out for the 2nd and promptly gave up a 4th goal (it wouldn't matter in the end). If the Caps don't make a deal for a goalie, they could exit the playoffs prematurely. Up next for Washington is the Sabres at home on Friday night.
OTHER HEADLINES
-Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood was able to practice hard during the morning skate Tuesday and won't have to go on the long-term injured reserve list. Osgood, who injured his groin against Colorado on Dec. 15, has been backing up Ty Conklin in the games since his injury. It wasn't getting any better and it came down to if he could practice effectively the morning of the Red Wings' game against the St. Louis Blues. "It was just tight but I want it to be 100 percent and that way I know I wont hurt it again for the rest of the year," Osgood said. "I think I'll be at that point after Christmas, I'll get some practices in and then I'll be ready to play." GM Ken Holland said "He said he could go in there and not re-injure it if he had to."
-The Minnesota Wild will be without top-scoring defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron for weeks. Bergeron suffered a lower-body injury in the third period of Friday's game against the Islanders. Wild assistant GM Tom Lynn told the paper that Bergeron will be out of the lineup for "a matter of weeks, not days." "He's limping around pretty good," Lynn said. Bergeron has 3 goals and 13 assists so far this season for the Wild, who are hovering around the middle of the Western conference. Bergeron will be replaced by Erik Reitz.
-Avalanche C Paul Stastny is out indefinitely with a broken right forearm. The injury occured in last night's game against Phoenix.
LAST NIGHT'S RECAP
Boston Bruins (25-5-4) over the New Jersey Devils (19-10-3) 2-0
TOP PERFORMER = Bruins G Tim Thomas - 25 Saves
-Milan Lucic scored his 10th goal of the season :49 seconds in to the 3rd period and David Krejci added an empty-netter. New Jersey was shut out for the first time since Nov. 3. Scott Clemmensen lost for just the second time in regulation since taking over as the full-time starter in place of injured Martin Brodeur.
Atlanta Thrashers (12-18-4) over the New York Islanders (10-21-3) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Thrashers C Bryan Little - 2 Goals
-Mathieu Schneider and Bryan Little put Atlanta up 2-0, but the Isles would rally back with goals from Andy Hillbert and Sean Bergenheim (SHG). Little scored his second goal of the game and Colby Armstrong added an empty net goal. The Isles are now on a 10 game losing streak. Their last ten game losing streak happened in the 97-98 season. Ilya Kovalchuk notched his 500th career point in his 500th career game with an assist on Little's second goal.
Philadelphia Flyers (19-8-7) over the Ottawa Senators (12-15-5) 6-4
TOP PERFORMER = Flyers LW Simon Gagne - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-This was a see-saw battle that saw the Flyers come out on top. Nick Foligno scored first for Ottawa, but Matt Carle and Joffrey Lupul gave Philly a 2-1 lead heading in to the intermission. In the 2nd period, Dany Heatley scored on the power play to tie the game at 2. Jeff Carter (PPG) scored his league-leading 26th goal of the season and Andreas Nodl made it 4-2 heading in to the 2nd intermission. Heatley and Phillips would tie the game at 4 in the 3rd, but Simon Gagne would score the game-winner and Mike Richards would add an empty-netter. Since a three-game losing streak from Nov. 2-8, the Flyers have gotten at least a point in 19 of 21 games.
Los Angeles Kings (14-14-6) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-16-4) 3-0
TOP PERFORMER = Kings G Jonathan Quick - 24 Saves, Shutout
-Raitis Ivanans and Peter Harrold scored their first goals of the season, Patrick O'Sullivan had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar had two assists for the road win. The shutout was Quick's first career shutout. Blue Jackets G Steve Mason made 39 saves in the loss. The Kings ended a four-game losing skid overall and a string of four straight losses on the road.
Detroit Red Wings (23-6-4) over the St. Louis Blues (13-18-3) 4-1
TOP PERFORMER = Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
-Pavel Datsyuk scored the Red Wings first goal (PPG) and their last goal (SHG). Henrik Zetterberg scored on the power play, Tomas Holmstrom netted his 10th goal of the season, and Ty Conklin made 33 saves in the win. Patrik Berglund scored his 12th goal of the season and Manny Legace made 37 saves in the loss. Since winning five of their first eight games, the Blues have won just eight of their last 26.
Tampa Bay Lightning (8-16-4) over the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-12-4) 2-0
TOP PERFORMER = Lightning C Paul Szczechura - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-Lightning LW Matt Pettinger scored the first goal of the game, Paul Sczcechura added a goal and an assist of his own, and Mark Recchi chipped in with two assists. Lightning G Mike Smith turned away 15 shots for the shutout while Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves in the loss.
Dallas Stars (14-14-5) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (14-14-6) 8-2
TOP PERFORMER = Stars LW James Neal - 3 Goals
-The Stars held a 7-0 lead midway though the 2nd period before Toronto would get on the scoreboard. James Neal (3G), Mike Ribeiro (1G, 1A), Brad Richards (1G), Steve Ott (1G, 1A), Fabian Brunnstrom (1G, 1A), Krys Barch (1G) Stephane Robidas (2 assists), Landon Wilson (2 assists) were all key contributors to the Stars offensive explosion. Jason Blake and Mikhail Grabovski scored the two Toronto goals.
Florida Panthers (16-13-4) over the Nashville Predators (16-14-3) 3-0
TOP PERFORMER = Panthers G Tomas Vokoun - 27 Saves, Shutout
-Panthers C Michael Frolik scored two goals and Cory Stillman potted one of his own. Tomas Vokoun turned away 27 shots against his former team for his 2nd straight shutout. Florida won for the eighth time in its last 11 games and is 7-1-2 in December, tying a franchise record for victories in the month. Pekka Rinne made 40 saves in the loss. He came in with three shutouts in his last five starts. Barry Trotz coached his 771st game for Nashville, moving him past Punch Imlach (Toronto) into sole possession of ninth place on the list of games coached with a single team.
Minnesota Wild (17-14-2) over the Carolina Hurricanes (16-14-5) 3-2
TOP PERFORMER = Wild RW Marian Gaborik - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-Rod Brind'Amour and Ray Whitney had the Hurricanes up 2-0 early in the 2nd period, but Cal Clutterbuck, Marian Gaborik (PPG) and Stephane Veilleux (SHG) scored three unanswered goals to give Minnesota the win. Mikko Koivu had two assists for the Wild. Nicklas Backstrom made 35 saves for Minnesota who made some big saves in a 3rd period 5-on-3 for the Hurricanes that lasted two minutes.
Calgary Flames (19-11-4) over the Anaheim Ducks (18-14-3) 4-3
TOP PERFORMER = Flames LW Brett Sutter - 1 Goal
-Talk about succeeding under pressure. Brett Sutter scored his first career goal in his first career game on the team that his dad is the GM for. David Moss and Brendan Morrison traded goals in the 2nd period to keep the game tied at 1 heading in to 3rd intermission. Ryan Getzlaf scored his 14th of the season to give the Ducks the lead, but it would only last 14 seconds when Brent Sutter put one past Jean-Sebastian Giguere. Mark Giordano (PPG) and Michael Cammalleri scored in a 2:27 span to make it 4-2. Brendan Morrison scored his 2nd goal of the game, but the Ducks would fall short. Miika Kiprusoff made 30 saves in the win while Jean-Sebastian Giguere made 28 saves in the loss. This was Giggy's first game back since the passing of his father, Claude.
Colorado Avalanche (17-16-1) over the Phoenix Coyotes (16-14-5) 5-4 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Avalanche LW Ryan Smith - 1 Goal, 3 Assists
-Joakim Lindstrom and Paul Stastny (PPG) swapped goals to keep the game tied heading in to the 1st intermission. In the 2nd period, Milan Hejduk scored his 13th of the season in the 2nd period to put Colorado up 2-1 heading in to the 2nd intermission. The red light was worked hard in the 3rd period. Olli Jokinen tied the game for Phoenix, but John-Michael Liles (PPG) and Ryan Smith made it a 4-2 game for the Avs, but Shane Doan would rally Phoenix with two goals (one of them on the power play - with :48 seconds remaining) to force overtime. In OT, Brett Clark scored his 2nd goal of the season on his 32nd birthday at the 1:48 mark to give Colorado their 200th win at the Pepsi Center.
San Jose Sharks (27-4-3) over the Vancouver Canucks (19-13-3) 5-0
TOP PERFORMER = Sharks G Evgeni Nabokov - 33 Saves, Shutout
-The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead heading in to the 1st intermission on goals from Rob Blake, Patrick Marleau (PPG, he also had 2 assists) and Devin Setoguchi (PPG). In the 2nd period, Joe Thornton and Tomas Plilhal added two more goals to give the Sharks a big cushion. Sharks LW Milan Michalek missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. Vancouver D Rob Davison and RW Steve Bernier played their first games against San Jose since leaving the club.
RUMOR MILL
-The Coyotes and Canucks are trying to make a deal with the Blackhawks for Martin Havlat
-Jason Spezza trade rumors are heating up. Chicago, Edmonton and LA are the rumored suitors right now
AROUND THE BOARDS
-The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated defenseman Rostislav Klesla off the IR. Klesla, 26, has tallied one goal and two assists for three points with eight penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating in 11 games with the Blue Jackets this season.
-According to The Globe and Mail (Canada), the Coyotes are receiving financial assistance from the National Hockey League to keep the team afloat. The report indicates the team is receiving advances on their share of league revenue. While NHL deputy commissioner Bill Dayl would neither confirm nor deny the Coyotes were being assisted, he did tell The Globe and Mail via e-mail that ''advances on league distributions are not unusual.'' Financial documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show the Coyotes have pledged the franchise and all its assets as collateral for loans from a New York company. A source told The Globe and Mail the Coyotes have already talked to the city of Glendale about renegotiating their 30-year lease at Jobing.com Arena. Under the current agreement, only a declaration of bankruptcy would allow the Coyotes to break the lease and relocate the team. Owner Jerry Moyes is expected to lose more than $30 million this season and has reportedly lost up to $200 million since he purchased the franchise for $120 million seven years ago.
TONIGHT'S ACTION
No action tonight or tomorrow for the Christmas Break
% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN
*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", will come out tonight!
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch will come out on Thursday this week, as our Christmas gift to you.
FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR EMAIL ANYTIME HERE OR AT FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM
To all of the Readers of FTS, have a Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah/Happy Kwanzaa/Happy Boxing Day and any other holidays I missed.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
(Photo Credit: AP)Alexander Ovechkin rallies the Caps from a 4-0 to deficit to stuff the Rangers stocking at MSG
Washington Capitals (21-11-3) over the New York Rangers (22-12-3) 5-4 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Capitals LW Alexander Ovechkin - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
If you're a Capitals fan, you got an early Christmas gift last night. If you're a Rangers fan, you didn't get a lump of coal in your stocking...you got a lump of coal thrown right at your face. It's rare that a team blows a four goal lead, especially at home, but the Rangers managed to do just that and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Madison Square Garden last night.
Madison Square Garden was buzzing after the 1st period. Markus Naslund, Michal Rozsival, and Ryan Callahan all scored goals to make 3-0 heading in to the break. Ryan Callahan scored his 2nd goal of the game at the 4:48 mark to make it 4-0. I was at this game and you could almost see the Rangers let off the gas pedal a little bit at this point. Alexander Ovechkin scored midway through the 2nd period to make it 4-1 heading in to the intermission. In the 3rd period, both Tomas Fleischmann and Viktor Kozlov scored power play goals to bring it within one goal. With just over 7 minutes remaining, Ovechkin stole a pass at the Rangers blue line and scored on a beautiful move to tie the game. In overtime, Shaone Morrison scored the game winning goal (his 1st of the season) on a blast from the top of the circles. Nicklas Backstrom and Chris Drury each chipped in with three assists for their respective teams.
The Rangers are simply a bad team right now. They are on that pattern of win three, lose two, win one, lose two, win two, etc. They are wildly inconsistent and, like I've said in previous columns, they don't play full hockey games. They either play the first two periods and then coast the rest of the way, or sleepwalk through the first two periods and fire on all cylinders for the 3rd period. The Rangers record is incredibly deceiving because they haven't played to that level this season. Head Coach Tom Renney needs to figure out something soon because this level of play won't last long in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers are off until Saturday night when they host the cross-river rival Devils.
If you're a Capitals fan, life is pretty good right now. Despite a rash of injuries (most of the scratches will return soon), the Capitals are playing very good hockey lately. Factor in that they play in a relatively weak division, the Caps could be running away with the Southeast by mid-March. The only issue in DC, and it's a big one right now, is their goaltending. Brent Johnson was supposed to start the game, then Jose Theodore got the call at the last second, gave up 3 goals, was yanked for Johnson for the remainder of the 1st period, and then Theodore was put back out for the 2nd and promptly gave up a 4th goal (it wouldn't matter in the end). If the Caps don't make a deal for a goalie, they could exit the playoffs prematurely. Up next for Washington is the Sabres at home on Friday night.
OTHER HEADLINES
-Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood was able to practice hard during the morning skate Tuesday and won't have to go on the long-term injured reserve list. Osgood, who injured his groin against Colorado on Dec. 15, has been backing up Ty Conklin in the games since his injury. It wasn't getting any better and it came down to if he could practice effectively the morning of the Red Wings' game against the St. Louis Blues. "It was just tight but I want it to be 100 percent and that way I know I wont hurt it again for the rest of the year," Osgood said. "I think I'll be at that point after Christmas, I'll get some practices in and then I'll be ready to play." GM Ken Holland said "He said he could go in there and not re-injure it if he had to."
-The Minnesota Wild will be without top-scoring defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron for weeks. Bergeron suffered a lower-body injury in the third period of Friday's game against the Islanders. Wild assistant GM Tom Lynn told the paper that Bergeron will be out of the lineup for "a matter of weeks, not days." "He's limping around pretty good," Lynn said. Bergeron has 3 goals and 13 assists so far this season for the Wild, who are hovering around the middle of the Western conference. Bergeron will be replaced by Erik Reitz.
-Avalanche C Paul Stastny is out indefinitely with a broken right forearm. The injury occured in last night's game against Phoenix.
LAST NIGHT'S RECAP
Boston Bruins (25-5-4) over the New Jersey Devils (19-10-3) 2-0
TOP PERFORMER = Bruins G Tim Thomas - 25 Saves
-Milan Lucic scored his 10th goal of the season :49 seconds in to the 3rd period and David Krejci added an empty-netter. New Jersey was shut out for the first time since Nov. 3. Scott Clemmensen lost for just the second time in regulation since taking over as the full-time starter in place of injured Martin Brodeur.
Atlanta Thrashers (12-18-4) over the New York Islanders (10-21-3) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Thrashers C Bryan Little - 2 Goals
-Mathieu Schneider and Bryan Little put Atlanta up 2-0, but the Isles would rally back with goals from Andy Hillbert and Sean Bergenheim (SHG). Little scored his second goal of the game and Colby Armstrong added an empty net goal. The Isles are now on a 10 game losing streak. Their last ten game losing streak happened in the 97-98 season. Ilya Kovalchuk notched his 500th career point in his 500th career game with an assist on Little's second goal.
Philadelphia Flyers (19-8-7) over the Ottawa Senators (12-15-5) 6-4
TOP PERFORMER = Flyers LW Simon Gagne - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-This was a see-saw battle that saw the Flyers come out on top. Nick Foligno scored first for Ottawa, but Matt Carle and Joffrey Lupul gave Philly a 2-1 lead heading in to the intermission. In the 2nd period, Dany Heatley scored on the power play to tie the game at 2. Jeff Carter (PPG) scored his league-leading 26th goal of the season and Andreas Nodl made it 4-2 heading in to the 2nd intermission. Heatley and Phillips would tie the game at 4 in the 3rd, but Simon Gagne would score the game-winner and Mike Richards would add an empty-netter. Since a three-game losing streak from Nov. 2-8, the Flyers have gotten at least a point in 19 of 21 games.
Los Angeles Kings (14-14-6) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-16-4) 3-0
TOP PERFORMER = Kings G Jonathan Quick - 24 Saves, Shutout
-Raitis Ivanans and Peter Harrold scored their first goals of the season, Patrick O'Sullivan had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar had two assists for the road win. The shutout was Quick's first career shutout. Blue Jackets G Steve Mason made 39 saves in the loss. The Kings ended a four-game losing skid overall and a string of four straight losses on the road.
Detroit Red Wings (23-6-4) over the St. Louis Blues (13-18-3) 4-1
TOP PERFORMER = Red Wings C Pavel Datsyuk - 2 Goals, 1 Assist
-Pavel Datsyuk scored the Red Wings first goal (PPG) and their last goal (SHG). Henrik Zetterberg scored on the power play, Tomas Holmstrom netted his 10th goal of the season, and Ty Conklin made 33 saves in the win. Patrik Berglund scored his 12th goal of the season and Manny Legace made 37 saves in the loss. Since winning five of their first eight games, the Blues have won just eight of their last 26.
Tampa Bay Lightning (8-16-4) over the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-12-4) 2-0
TOP PERFORMER = Lightning C Paul Szczechura - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-Lightning LW Matt Pettinger scored the first goal of the game, Paul Sczcechura added a goal and an assist of his own, and Mark Recchi chipped in with two assists. Lightning G Mike Smith turned away 15 shots for the shutout while Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves in the loss.
Dallas Stars (14-14-5) over the Toronto Maple Leafs (14-14-6) 8-2
TOP PERFORMER = Stars LW James Neal - 3 Goals
-The Stars held a 7-0 lead midway though the 2nd period before Toronto would get on the scoreboard. James Neal (3G), Mike Ribeiro (1G, 1A), Brad Richards (1G), Steve Ott (1G, 1A), Fabian Brunnstrom (1G, 1A), Krys Barch (1G) Stephane Robidas (2 assists), Landon Wilson (2 assists) were all key contributors to the Stars offensive explosion. Jason Blake and Mikhail Grabovski scored the two Toronto goals.
Florida Panthers (16-13-4) over the Nashville Predators (16-14-3) 3-0
TOP PERFORMER = Panthers G Tomas Vokoun - 27 Saves, Shutout
-Panthers C Michael Frolik scored two goals and Cory Stillman potted one of his own. Tomas Vokoun turned away 27 shots against his former team for his 2nd straight shutout. Florida won for the eighth time in its last 11 games and is 7-1-2 in December, tying a franchise record for victories in the month. Pekka Rinne made 40 saves in the loss. He came in with three shutouts in his last five starts. Barry Trotz coached his 771st game for Nashville, moving him past Punch Imlach (Toronto) into sole possession of ninth place on the list of games coached with a single team.
Minnesota Wild (17-14-2) over the Carolina Hurricanes (16-14-5) 3-2
TOP PERFORMER = Wild RW Marian Gaborik - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-Rod Brind'Amour and Ray Whitney had the Hurricanes up 2-0 early in the 2nd period, but Cal Clutterbuck, Marian Gaborik (PPG) and Stephane Veilleux (SHG) scored three unanswered goals to give Minnesota the win. Mikko Koivu had two assists for the Wild. Nicklas Backstrom made 35 saves for Minnesota who made some big saves in a 3rd period 5-on-3 for the Hurricanes that lasted two minutes.
Calgary Flames (19-11-4) over the Anaheim Ducks (18-14-3) 4-3
TOP PERFORMER = Flames LW Brett Sutter - 1 Goal
-Talk about succeeding under pressure. Brett Sutter scored his first career goal in his first career game on the team that his dad is the GM for. David Moss and Brendan Morrison traded goals in the 2nd period to keep the game tied at 1 heading in to 3rd intermission. Ryan Getzlaf scored his 14th of the season to give the Ducks the lead, but it would only last 14 seconds when Brent Sutter put one past Jean-Sebastian Giguere. Mark Giordano (PPG) and Michael Cammalleri scored in a 2:27 span to make it 4-2. Brendan Morrison scored his 2nd goal of the game, but the Ducks would fall short. Miika Kiprusoff made 30 saves in the win while Jean-Sebastian Giguere made 28 saves in the loss. This was Giggy's first game back since the passing of his father, Claude.
Colorado Avalanche (17-16-1) over the Phoenix Coyotes (16-14-5) 5-4 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Avalanche LW Ryan Smith - 1 Goal, 3 Assists
-Joakim Lindstrom and Paul Stastny (PPG) swapped goals to keep the game tied heading in to the 1st intermission. In the 2nd period, Milan Hejduk scored his 13th of the season in the 2nd period to put Colorado up 2-1 heading in to the 2nd intermission. The red light was worked hard in the 3rd period. Olli Jokinen tied the game for Phoenix, but John-Michael Liles (PPG) and Ryan Smith made it a 4-2 game for the Avs, but Shane Doan would rally Phoenix with two goals (one of them on the power play - with :48 seconds remaining) to force overtime. In OT, Brett Clark scored his 2nd goal of the season on his 32nd birthday at the 1:48 mark to give Colorado their 200th win at the Pepsi Center.
San Jose Sharks (27-4-3) over the Vancouver Canucks (19-13-3) 5-0
TOP PERFORMER = Sharks G Evgeni Nabokov - 33 Saves, Shutout
-The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 lead heading in to the 1st intermission on goals from Rob Blake, Patrick Marleau (PPG, he also had 2 assists) and Devin Setoguchi (PPG). In the 2nd period, Joe Thornton and Tomas Plilhal added two more goals to give the Sharks a big cushion. Sharks LW Milan Michalek missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. Vancouver D Rob Davison and RW Steve Bernier played their first games against San Jose since leaving the club.
RUMOR MILL
-The Coyotes and Canucks are trying to make a deal with the Blackhawks for Martin Havlat
-Jason Spezza trade rumors are heating up. Chicago, Edmonton and LA are the rumored suitors right now
AROUND THE BOARDS
-The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated defenseman Rostislav Klesla off the IR. Klesla, 26, has tallied one goal and two assists for three points with eight penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating in 11 games with the Blue Jackets this season.
-According to The Globe and Mail (Canada), the Coyotes are receiving financial assistance from the National Hockey League to keep the team afloat. The report indicates the team is receiving advances on their share of league revenue. While NHL deputy commissioner Bill Dayl would neither confirm nor deny the Coyotes were being assisted, he did tell The Globe and Mail via e-mail that ''advances on league distributions are not unusual.'' Financial documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show the Coyotes have pledged the franchise and all its assets as collateral for loans from a New York company. A source told The Globe and Mail the Coyotes have already talked to the city of Glendale about renegotiating their 30-year lease at Jobing.com Arena. Under the current agreement, only a declaration of bankruptcy would allow the Coyotes to break the lease and relocate the team. Owner Jerry Moyes is expected to lose more than $30 million this season and has reportedly lost up to $200 million since he purchased the franchise for $120 million seven years ago.
TONIGHT'S ACTION
No action tonight or tomorrow for the Christmas Break
% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN
*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", will come out tonight!
~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch will come out on Thursday this week, as our Christmas gift to you.
FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR EMAIL ANYTIME HERE OR AT FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM
To all of the Readers of FTS, have a Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah/Happy Kwanzaa/Happy Boxing Day and any other holidays I missed.
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