DROPPING THE GLOVES with ANDREW BOGUSCH & FTS - 2/19/08

Should Capitals defenseman Mike Green be a Norris Trophy candidate? Andrew Bogusch pinches on that theory.

His eight-game goal streak put Mike Green on the front page of websites and near the beginning of highlight shows. But it better not help the Capitals defenseman get the Norris Trophy come June. While the raw numbers are there for the 23-year-old, they show more of a power-play opportunist than all-around blueliner. This month’s red light binge gave Green 22 goals in 44 games through Tuesday. He is on pace for 34 tallies. Had he not missed 13 games bridging November and December, we could be talking about Green breaking Paul Coffey’s single-season record of 48.

The Calgary native leads all D-men in goals and points (50) even though he has played 11 and 13 fewer games than second place in each category. The list of teams whose backline has scored fewer total goals than Green is in double digits. Most of that, though, derives from Green’s power-play prowess – production that cannot be ignored, but bloats his overall profile. Subtract his man-advantage numbers and Green has 7 goals and 18 assists. Those 25 points are good for roughly 40th in the NHL, right next to Fedor Tyutin and Denis Grebeshkov.

Then there’s Karl Alzner, Green’s rookie teammate. In Alzner’s 30 games with the big club, he averages 3:07 of PK time, 44 more seconds than Green. Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz, and Shaone Morrison also earn more short-handed responsibilities. So if Bruce Boudreau trusts four others, including a rookie, more than Green when he needs as much defense as possible, can Green truly be considered for the Norris?

The only number that supports Green as a legitimate candidate is his +28, which is tied for second in the League and is better than Niklas Lidstrom and Zdeno Chara. Since plus-minus ignores power-play success, Green is certainly doing his part of keeping the puck out of the net at even-strength. That is not enough, though. Every Norris winner in recent memory that was even slightly offensively-inclined was still the first D-man over the boards to kill an important penalty of close out a tight game. Boudreau has better options for both situations right now.

But this doesn’t really negate what Green does on a nightly basis. The Capitals don’t surge to the Southeast Division title last season or dominate it this year without Green’s production. For now, Green has to settle for being the biggest offensive threat from the blueline. A Norris Trophy may be in his future, just not his immediate future.

* * *

The Shootout…

It is time for a major shakeup on Broadway – Glen Sather and Tom Renney should be on the unemployment line by the time you read this. The general manager is much more at fault for what is transpiring with the Rangers right now, but the head coach must go, too. We gave him credit when the Blueshirts over-achieved to open the season; he must now take the heat when they are underperforming…

How do you know when you’ve hit a new low? When your GM (Bob Gainey) tells you (Alex Kovalev) to take two games off to clear your head in the middle of a playoff race. Could the Canadiens AND the Rangers miss the playoffs?
By the time we talk next week, Peter Forsberg may have announced his retirement from hockey after another bout with foot issues. Show me a better mix of finesse and power in a player in the last 20 years…

As always, please send all thoughts, comments, complaints to boguschhockey@gmail.com

ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...

-Alexander Ovechkin's 42nd goal of the season was a dazzling one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhDP0PERgUU) and it opened up the scoring for the Capitals (37-16-5) in a hard fought 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens (30-21-7). Nicklas Backstrom scored a power play goal and the game-winning shootout goal. Dave Steckel scored the game-tying goal late in the 3rd period for the Caps. Montreal has now lost 11 of 14.

-Chris Drury had three assists, Nigel Dawes scored his 9th of the season, and Scott Gomez scored the game winner on the power play midway through the 2nd period to help the Rangers (31-22-6) to a 3-1 win over the Islanders (17-34-6). Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves in the win to help the Rangers to six wins in their past eight games against the Islanders. The Isles fell to 1-18-1 in their last 20 road games.

-The Columbus Blue Jackets (29-23-6) improved to six games above .500 for the first time in franchise history in a 4-3 win over the Blues (24-26-7) last night. Defenseman Fedor Tyutin, center Manny Malholtra, and LW Rick Nash each had a goal and an assist to move Columbus in to 5th place in the West. The Blue Jackets improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games after losing their previous three contests while St. Louis' five-game winning streak vs. Columbus ended.

-Nicklas Lidstrom and Johan Franzen each had two goals and an assist to help the Red Wings (38-12-8) to a 6-2 win over the Predators (27-28-3). Defensemen Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall each had two assists while Jiri Hudler and Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist. Nashville has lost eight of their past nine at Detroit. The Red Wings have scored 38 goals in their last eight games combined.

-Jarrett Stoll had a goal and two assists, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown each had a goal (both on the power play) and an assist to help the Kings (25-22-9) beat crosstown rival Anaheim (28-26-5) 4-3. Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick made 28 saves in the win while Ducks winger Ryan Getzlaf had a goal (PPG) and two assists in the loss. Last night's game wrapped up the season series between the two teams and each team finished 3-2-1 against the other.

OTHER HEADLINES

-Coyotes owners confirm decision to sell team:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=267637&lid=sublink03&lpos=headlines_nhl

-The Pittsburgh Penguins skated, worked on the power play, gathered at the chalk board. They worked on the penalty kill, skated, and returned to the chalk board. Then they skated, and skated some more. Dan Bylsma's first practice as the Penguins' coach was more like the first day of the pre-season, in tenor and in time. Most NHL teams don't meet and practice for three hours with more than two-thirds of the season gone, but the desperate Penguins did that Wednesday. They also didn't need to be told why they were doing it. "That was an attempt at training camp, in short order," Bylsma said. "I think the players understand the situation, understand today would be different from a normal day."

I applaud this move. The Penguins need to be waken up, and Bylsma needs to make it known he won't be pushed around either.

-Mike Green has changed his mind and has decided the Hockey Hall of Fame can have his record-breaking stick. The Washington Capitals defenceman on Wednesday said he'll donate to the Hall of Fame the stick that served him so well during his eight-game goal-scoring streak, the longest by a defenceman in NHL history. Going into action Wednesday, Green led all defenceman with 22 goals. Green had been reluctant to part with the stick, calling it the best one he's ever used. It accounted for all 10 goals in his eight-game spree, including the record-breaker in the second period of Saturday night's 5-1 win over Tampa Bay. In Wednesday's game against Montreal, Green played without the lucky stick, a blue and black Easton Stealth. The Hall of Fame asked for the stick shortly after the record-setting game, but Green said no. He instead contemplated donating something else from the game - perhaps his gloves - so that he could hold onto the stick. The stick had an unusually long NHL life. Green said his sticks often break after five or six games, but this one lasted about 10 games. He also used it when he went scoreless in Sunday's victory over the Florida Panthers, the game that ended the streak.

-Peter Forsberg's foot problems have once again flared up, and the forward might hang up his skates for good. According to the Denver Post, Forsberg, who recently returned to action with Modo of the Swedish Elite League wasn't able to play Tuesday night because of the injury, and after when he spoke to the media he didn't sound hopeful. "I will think for a couple of days before I make a decision, but it doesn't look good," Forsberg told the media in Sweden. The 35-year old told reporters at a news conference after Modo's game against HV71 that he once again had his troublesome foot problems act up on Saturday. "I don't know what to do," Forsberg said. "I can't play if I don't feel 100 percent. I don't know what happens now. I have to check if there is some last thing we can do to fix the problem." While Forsberg was disappointed by his latest and perhaps final setback, it didn't come as a shock. "I am not that surprised. It has happened before and I was prepared for it this time as well," Forsberg said. "It seems impossible to fix the problem. I have tried it all." Forsberg has 885 points in 706 career NHL games, and 171 points in 151 NHL playoff games. The two-time Stanley Cup winner was also named the NHL's MVP award in 2003.

RUMOR MILL

-Expect a deal for Erik Cole to go down soon. There are plenty of teams that are interested in him, so Edmonton should be able to get some immediate help in return.

-Jay Bouwmeester, if he is dealt, will be dealt before the deadline. Philly is the name that's coming up now and Matt Carle would be one of the names heading back to Florida.

-Anaheim is looking to bring Joffrey Lupul back, and they could definitely use him right now.

TONIGHTS ACTION:
Carolina @ NY Islanders - 7PM
%Buffalo @ Philadelphia - 7PM
Montreal @ Pittsburgh - 7PM
Vancouver @ Ottawa - 7:30PM
New Jersey @ Tampa Bay - 7:30PM
Columbus @ Toronto - 7:30PM
Chicago @ Florida - 7:30PM
St. Louis @ Nashville - 8PM
Calgary @ Minnestoa - 8PM
Edmonton @ Dallas - 8:30PM
Atlanta @ Phoenix - 9PM
Los Angeles @ San Jose - 10:30PM

% = Game of the Night
^All Times are Eastern

*My weekly power rankings comes out Mondays

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out Thursdays

TO EMAIL FTS, EMAIL FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM