DROPPING THE GLOVES WITH ANDREW BOGUSCH & FTS 1/29/08

(Photo Credit: AP)


I think you’ll be surprised with Andrew’s prediction for the Columbus Blue Jackets…

The “second half” of the season began last night with 10 Eastern Conference teams thinking playoffs and all but Los Angeles and St. Louis out West still alive. The push for the Second Season should be awesome. Here’s who we think will be left standing once the regular season ends…

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#1 BOSTON: Chara + Savard + Kessel + Krejci + Thomas/Fernandez = no letdown. The Bruins will stay clear of Washington and everyone else to earn home ice throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

#2 WASHINGTON: Barring a Jose Theodore collapse in net, the Capitals will cruise to a second straight Southeast Division title.

#3 PHILADELPHIA: The Flyers are better than the Devils, even if Martin Brodeur returns on time March 1st and plays well. Plus, Peter Forsberg could be back in Philly by early February.

#4 MONTREAL: The Canadiens’ roster will change (probably dramatically) by the trade deadline, but all of Bob Gainey’s work will only be good enough for home ice in Round 1.

#5 NEW JERSEY: The Devils are one of the best stories of the first half. Their reward: a possible Game 7 in the Bell Centre.

#6 PITTSBURGH: Sidney Crosby + Evgeni Malkin + Marc-Andre Fleury = a playoff spot, even if the Penguins came out of the All-Star Break 10th in the conference.

#7 NY RANGERS: No team’s record is more misleading than the Blueshirts’. This team is just not that good – I’d love to keep them out of the playoffs. But Henrik Lundqvist and the boys are better than Buffalo, Carolina and Florida.

#8 FLORIDA: Why not the Panthers? They can certainly hold off Buffalo and Carolina. Let’s party like it’s 1996! Until Uew Krupp shows up and turns off the music.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 SAN JOSE: The Sharks will be the #1 seed overall, but won’t the Red Wings still be the favorites to win the Stanley Cup?

#2 DETROIT: see above

#3 CALGARY: Someone has to win the Northwest Division

#4 CHICAGO: The renaissance in the Windy City goes to another level with home ice in the first round. And let’s say it now: the Blackhawks would beat San Jose in Round 2.

#5 ANAHEIM: Like the Penguins, the Ducks are too good to be this lackluster for a full season. Thanks to all the so-so teams around them, they will rally up the standings.

#6 COLUMBUS: The Blue Jackets have 21 home games left and a red-hot goaltender.

#7 PHOENIX: The Coyotes disastrous balance sheet will get some good news with at least 2 playoff games.

#8 EDMONTON: The Oilers’ young guns will hang on (barely) to earn the right to lose to the Sharks in the opening round.

Some final thoughts on our predictions…(1) Mats Sundin wasn’t worth it, Vancouver; (2) I really want to keep the Rangers out, but I just cannot see two of Buffalo, Carolina and Florida in this bracket; (3) Not only will the Blue Jackets make the playoffs, they’ll reach the second round; (4) I’ve already grown my playoff beard.

The Shootout…The NHL’s decision to “suspend” Red Wings Niklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk is an unfortunate one. While the players should have been in Montreal to be part of the festivities, there is nothing wrong with them skipping the All-Star Game to nurse injuries, even if they are minor. As important as the ASG is to the League, it is still just an exhibition, far less significant than any regular season game. Of course players will push themselves to dress for a game that counts – they should be allowed to miss one that doesn’t…

Which brings us to an All-Star alternative being pushed by NHLPA Director of Player Affairs Glenn Healy. Each February, Healy thinks the League should take a break for a rotation of major events: the Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey, and a traditional All-Star Game. The only issue at first glance is what the 85% of players not involved in such events do for 2 weeks every February…

Finally, back to Detroit, where the Red Wings are giving Henrik Zetterberg a 12-year extension worth just north of 72 million dollars. Leave it to Ken Holland to ink Zetterberg to a deal paying him less annually than Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, and Danny Briere...

As always, please direct your comments, critiques, and fan letters to boguschhockey@gmail.com


ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...

-Kris Letang and Petr Sykora each scored two goals while Sidney Crosby showed no signs of rust with a goal and three assists as the Penguins (24-21-4) kicked the door down in the 3rd period to beat the Rangers (29-17-4) 6-2. This could be one of those wins that gets the Penguins back on a roll.

-Mike Cammalleri’s hat trick made the difference in the Flames (29-14-4) 5-2 win over the Sabres (25-19-5). We saw the difference between a very good Western Conference team and a mediocre Eastern Conference team as Calgary completely outplayed and outscored Buffalo in the 3rd period 3-0

-The Blackhawks (26-12-8) skated by the Ducks (24-22-5) 3-2 thanks to goals from Adam Burish, Patrick Kane (PPG) and Jonathan Toews. Nikolai Khabibulin made 36 saves for the Blackhawks. The Ducks are in a slump and a shake up needs to come in some form to save this team before they sink too far down the West standings.

-In a see-saw game at the GM Place, the Canucks (22-20-7) would score three goals early in the 2nd period to take a 3-1 lead, and then would proceed to blow that lead. Martin Erat, Jason Arnott, and JP Dumont would all score power play goals to give the Predators (21-23-3) back the lead for good in a 5-3 win.

OTHER HEADLINES

-Alex Ovechkin was given Wednesday off, an excused absence from practice that Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said had nothing to do with the "stinger" the league's reigning MVP got from a shoulder-first crash into the boards. "He's fine," Boudreau said. "I wanted to give him today off to rest. He's probably a little stiff, I would think, but I mean, he's fine. And I asked him how his shoulder was. He says he's OK, no problem." During Tuesday night's 3-2 loss at Boston, Ovechkin - who leads the NHL with 31 goals - hit the boards with his head and right shoulder, then remained motionless on the ice for about 15 seconds before rolling over and rubbing his face with his glove. Although he left the ice a few minutes later, he was doubled over and flexing his right arm. He sat on the bench for a few minutes before walking off through the tunnel and slamming his gloves and helmet to the ground. But he returned for the start of the third period.

-The Detroit Red Wings recalled forwards Ville Leino and Aaron Downey from Grand Rapids of the AHL and placed defenceman Brad Stuart on injured reserve. Stuart, who has an injured rib, will miss a minimum of one week. The 25-year-old Leino is second on the Griffins in scoring with 37 points in 44 games. He had six points in eight pre-season games for Detroit, which signed him as a free agent on May 10. Downey has six points and 71 penalty minutes in 44 games for Grand Rapids this season. The 34-year-old had three points and a team-high 116 penalty minutes in 56 games for the Red Wings in 2007-08. Stuart has eight points and 18 penalty minutes in 45 games with Detroit this season. He signed a four-year contract in July.

-The news keeps getting worse for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Back-up goaltender Olaf Kolzig will miss 3-4 months with a distal biceps tendon rupture in his left arm. Kolzig is scheduled for surgery on Saturday and unless the Lightning make the playoffs, his season is over. In eight games this season, Kolzig has a record of 2-4-1 with a 3.66 goals-against-average. Mike Smith will continue to carry the bulk of the load with Karri Rammo, who was recalled from Norfolk of the AHL on Monday, serving as the back-up.

RUMOR MILL

-The Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators are talking. The names involved would be Jason Spezza heading to Edmonton with Erik Cole and D prospect Taylor Chorney heading back to Ottawa. This would be one of those rare deals that would work out well for both sides.

-Nik Antropov’s name is back in the rumor mill (big shock) Philadelphia seems to want him real bad, but Boston and San Jose are in the mix as well.

TONIGHTS ACTION:
%New Jersey @ Boston – 7PM
Tampa Bay @ Carolina – 7PM
Montreal @ Florida – 7PM
NY Islanders @ Atlanta – 7PM
Dallas @ Detroit – 7:30PM
Ottawa @ St. Louis – 8:30PM
Toronto @ Colorado 9:30PM
Chicago @ Los Angeles – 10:30PM
Phoenix @ San Jose – 10:30PM

*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", comes out Mondays

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch will move to Thursdays

TO EMAIL FTS, EMAIL FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM

FTS - 1/28/08

TOP STORY

BRUINS KO CAPS IN OT

(Photo Credit: AP)

David Krejci scored a power-play goal off the leg of Capitals defender Shaone Morrisonn with 3:05 left in overtime Tuesday night and the Boston Bruins (35-8-5) beat Washington (30-15-4) 3-2 in a match-up of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Tim Thomas stopped 34 shots for Boston and improved to 12-2-1 over his last 15 games.

The Capitals escaped a scare after reigning MVP Alex Ovechkin returned from an awkward crash into the boards. Team spokesman Paul Rovnak said Ovechkin had a "stinger" that felt better after about 15 minutes. Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 31 goals, missed the last 5:35 of the second period but returned for the third.

Mike Green gave the Capitals the lead just 2:08 into the game, on a pass from Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. But Boston tied it when Washington turned it over in its own zone and Shawn Thornton picked it up and backhanded it over Theodore's glove. It was the first even strength goal allowed by the Capitals in more than three games -- a span of 208 minutes. Michael Nylander gave Washington a 2-1 lead with 21 seconds left in the first. But Bergeron helped Boston tie it 2-all on a power play with 5:48 left second period when he dived to the ice to keep the puck in the zone and crossed it to Marc Savard at the right circle.

The Bruins have lost just four of its last 26 games in regulation (two of them to the Capitals - both on the road), and hold an 11-point lead over second-place Washington in the conference standings. Boston forward Patrice Bergeron, who missed most of last season with a concussion and then sustained another on Dec. 20 of this season, returned after missing 15 games

(Information from the AP was used in this report)

OTHER ACTION FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE...

-The Rangers (29-16-4) beat the Hurricanes (23-21-5) 3-2 as Rangers backup goalie Stephen Valiquette turns away 33 shots

-The Blue Jackets (23-20-5) beat the Red Wings (31-9-7) 3-2 in OT behind Rick Nash's hat trick, giving him 22 goals on the season

-The Devils (30-15-3) hold on to first place in the Atlantic and beat the Senators (16-22-7) 4-1 thanks to two Jaime Langenbrunner goals.

-Vinny Lecavalier fed the Montreal frenzy of bringing him to the Canadiens (27-14-6) even more as his goal and assist helped the Lightning (17-21-10) to a 5-3 win over Les Habitents.

-The Panthers (22-17-8) continued their playoff push with a 3-2 win over the Flyers (25-13-9) thanks to a goal and 2 assists from Michael Frolik

-Pierre-Marc Bouchard's two goals and an assist helped to lead the Wild (24-20-3) to a big win over the Maple Leafs (17-23-8) 6-1

-Marty Turco made 25 saves for his 35th career shutout as the Stars (21-18-7) shutout the Thrashers (17-27-5) 2-0. Dallas is 5-3-3 in 2009.

-Drew Stafford netted a hat trick while Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy each had a goal and two assists as the Sabres (25-18-5) routed the Oilers (24-20-3) 10-2

-Milan Michalek scored twice and Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves for his 43rd career shutout as the Sharks (35-6-5) shutout the Avalanche (23-24-1) 3-0.

-Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry each scored twice for the Ducks (24-21-5) ina 7-3 thrashing over the Coyotes (24-20-5).

OTHER HEADLINES

-The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a contract extension with forward Henrik Zetterberg worth slightly more than $72 million over 12 years. Zetterberg, a 28-year-old native of Sweden, is in his sixth NHL season, all with Detroit. He has 43 points in 45 games this season.

I've said how much I hate this new trend of decade-long deals in the NHL, but this is a rare excpetion to my hatred of them. With everything Zetterberg has done for the Red Wings already, there's no reason to think he can't continue being one of the Top 10 players in the NHL. He is certainly a player that Detroit can continue to build their continuing dynasty around.

-The New York Islanders announced today that veteran forward Mike Sillinger will miss the rest of the season after undergoing hip surgery on Monday. Sillinger played in just seven games this season, and scored two goals. He had surgery on the same hip last year and missed the final 29 games of 2007-08 as well as the first 24 games this year. The 37-year old has played 1,049 NHL games over 18 seasons, and has scored 240 goals and 308 assists. He has played for a record 12 different clubs.

-Oilers F Sam Gagner had an MRI on Monday to help find out why the ankle, which has bothered Gagner most of the season didn't get any better during the All-Star break. Gagner has only missed three games this season so far, and has posted four goals and 13 assists. He averages over 16 minutes of ice time per game for the sixth place Oilers.

RUMOR MILL

-I'm hearing that the Maple Leafs will make a hard push for Flames forward Mike Cammalleri once the free agency period begins. While he is a very good player and there isn't a team in the league that wouldn't mind having him, I hope he won't be the center piece to Brian Burke's rebuilding project in Toronto.

-No real update on the Vinny Lecavalier to Montreal rumors...but know that they are trying to work towards something and that a 3rd team could be involved.

TONIGHTS ACTION:
NY Rangers @ Pittsburgh - 7:30PM
Buffalo @ Calgary - 8:00PM
%Chicago @ Anaheim - 10PM
Nashville @ Ottawa - 10:30PM

% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN

*My weekly power rankings, "PLUS/MINUS", will return next week

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch returns tonight

MID-SEASON REPORT CARDS - 1/26/09

With the All-Star break ending tomorrow, I figured it would be a great time to hand out grades to each team heading in to the stretch run of the regular season. The grade is factoring in the entire season. The rankings for the divisions are in GRADE order, not point total.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

NEW JERSEY DEVILS {29-15-3 - 61 Points}
A+ ~ The fact that the Devils lead the Atlantic Division at the All-Star break despite being without Martin Brodeur is reason alone to give them a top grade. Zach Parise's 28 goals and 27 assists (55 points) give the Devils their first legitimate scorer in a long time.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS {25-12-9 - 59 Points}
A ~ Other than an early season slump, the Flyers have been playing solid hockey all season despite being without top center Daniel Briere. Their only question as they enter the stretch run is will their goaltending ruin them in the playoffs...again

NEW YORK RANGERS {28-16-4 - 60 Points}
B ~ The Rangers have had a very good season, but they've had too many blunders and poor performances in games to grade them any higher. Consistency will be the difference between a deep playoff run or another 2nd round exit

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS {23-21-4 - 50 Points}
C+ ~ Pittsburgh has slumped too much this season for the amount of talent on their roster. They need to add toughness at the trade deadline if they want to make another Stanley Cup run. This all being said, the Penguins can turn it on at the drop of a dime and win this division.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS {13-29-5 - 31 Points}
D- ~ As bad as this team has been, when you look at the roster, you understand why. Losing Rick DiPietro has killed this team, but backup goalie Joey MacDonald has been a pleasant surprise.

NORTHEAST DIVISION

BOSTON BRUINS {34-8-5 - 73 Points}
A+ ~ The Bruins were expected to be a playoff team heading in to the season, but no one expected them to be this good. The B's have perfect chemistry right now and are getting contributions from all over the roster. If they can add one more scoring forward, it could be Stanley Cup season in Beantown for the first time since 1990.

MONTREAL CANADIENS {27-13-6 - 60 Points}
A- ~ The only fault with this team is their power play right now. Coincidentally, when Alexei Kovalev was playing well on the PP last season, they had one of the best in the league. Kovalev has been slumping on the PP, and the performance has gone down. If the Vinny Lecavalier trade rumors become true, the Canadiens would vault past the Bruins as the favorite in the East.

BUFFALO SABRES {24-18-5 - 53 Points}
B ~ The Sabres got off to a strong start but fell off. They have rebounded and righted the ship to the pre-season expectations of the team. While they don't have the tools to make a deep run, they certainly wouldn't be an easy out for whoever drew them in the 1st round. This team will go as far as RW Thomas Vanek and G Ryan Miller will carry them.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS {17-22-8 - 42 Points}
C- ~ The Maple Leafs organization knows this season is a write-off and they knew that coming in, but they have certainly played tough night in and night out. I am really curious to see what GM Brian Burke does in his first trade season in Toronto.

OTTAWA SENATORS {16-21-7 - 39 Points}
F ~ I don't care what the problem is, this team has way too much talent to be playing this badly. They have the roster to steal a playoff spot and potentially pull off an upset, but they aren't getting in the win column enough for them to even be significant.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

WASHINGTON CAPITALS {30-15-3 - 63 Points}
A- ~ The Capitals are playing at a high level right now and have the talent to keep it up. Not to sound like a broken record in this blog, but unless Jose Theodore gets on a hot streak at the right time, this team needs to make a move for a playoff-caliber #1 goalie.

FLORIDA PANTHERS {21-17-8 - 50 Points}
B ~ Despite some really bad rough patches in the season, the Panthers are only 2 points out of a playoff spot. This team doesn't have the ability to make a deep run, but you have to wonder what just a playoff birth would do to the fanbase in Sunrise, FL. The main question GM Jacques Martin has to face is if keeping D Jay Bouwmeester for the chance of making the playoffs (and they would definitely lose him when he becomes a free agent in the off-season) is worth it instead of getting a lot of value back for him at the trade deadline.

CAROLINA HURRICANES {23-20-5 - 51 Points}
B- ~ Just like the Rangers, consistency has killed this team throughout the season. The Hurricanes should be chasing down the Capitals for the top spot in the division, not battling Florida for 2nd place.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING {16-21-10 - 42 Points}
D ~ The Lightning organization has been a textbook example of a team in turmoil this season. They fired Barry Melrose early in the season, their top players aren't performing. The only bright spot has been G Mike Smith, who has proven his merit as a starter. They traded Brad Richards at the trade deadline last season, will they part with Vinny Lecavalier at this deadline?

ATLANTA THRASHERS {17-26-5 - 39 Points}
D ~ A lack of consistency between the pipes has killed the Thrashers this season. They are clearly rebuilding for the next few seasons, so Thrasher fans can count on saying good bye to winger Ilya Kovalchuk, D Mathieu Schneider, and possibly D Niclas Havelid. Will there be a fan-base left after this season?

CENTRAL DIVISION

DETROIT RED WINGS {31-9-6 - 68 Points}
A ~ The Red Wings have lived up to the high expectations put on them this season. San Jose has played the best hockey so far this season, but when the Red Wings are on their game, they are like a hockey machine. They are still the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in my book as long as the Chris Osgood/Ty Conklin duo holds up in the crease.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS {25-12-8 - 58 Points}
A- ~ It's really nice to see hockey matter in Chicago again. You never want to say that someone dying was a good thing, but lets call a spade a spade. Former Blackhawks Owner William Wurtz's passing last year was the BEST thing that ever happened to this franchise. The Blackhawks are playing exciting hockey, they are the top drawing team in the NHL, and they have a young core that can be good for many season to come.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS {22-20-5 - 49 Points}
B- ~ Will this be the season the Blue Jackets finally make the playoffs? Head Coach Ken Hitchcock has the personnel he wants and the team believing in his defense-first mentality. While it has been an up and down season for the Blue Jackets, they are in a good position as they head in to February.

ST. LOUIS BLUES {19-23-4 - 42 Points}
D+ ~ St. Louis will be lottery bound this season. While they were on a roll early in the season, losing Manny Legace was the beginning of the end of the season for this team. It may not look like it right now, but the Blues are building towards something.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS {20-23-3 - 43 Points}
D+ ~ The Predators have been big underachievers this season. They went from pushing Detroit to 6 games in the first round of the playoffs last season to having a worse point total than all but one team in the West (St. Louis). I wouldn't be surprised to see this team surge a bit in the 2nd half, but the West is too tough for a legitimate playoff run.

NORTHWEST DIVISION

CALGARY FLAMES {28-14-4 - 60 Points}
A- ~ Head coach Mike Keenan has his boys rolling on the Red Mile. What makes the Flames a more dangerous team in the West is that their style of play matches up very well against the top dogs in Detroit and San Jose. Anytime that Miika Kiprusoff is your goalie, you've got the ability to make a deep run in the playoffs.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS {22-19-7 - 51 Points}
B+ ~ Their record is deceiving because they have been without all-world goalie Roberto Luongo for a decent chunk of the season. While he has returned, he is not back to playing at the level he normally does. Once Roberto is playing Luongo-like again, the rest of the team will fall in to place. The jury is still out on the Mats Sundin signing.

EDMONTON OILERS {24-19-3 - 51 Points}
B ~ The definition of an up and down team. The length of time it took them to settle their goalie situation hurt this team in the standings a bit, but Edmonton now has all of it's ducks in a row to make a playoff run.

MINNESOTA WILD {23-20-3 - 49 Points}
B- ~What looked like such a promising season at the beginning has turned in to a mediocre season. Being without sniper Marian Gaborik has really hurt this team, but he probably would have been traded by now if he had been healthy anyways. Because Minnesota plays such good defense and has one of the more underrated goalies in the league in Nicklas Backstrom, they can make a run back to the top of the division at any time.

COLORADO AVALANCHE {23-23-1 - 47 Points}
C ~ Losing Captain Joe Sakic hurt this team in a big way. They have the talent to be a playoff team, but they need Peter Budaj to play more like the Budaj of late than the Budaj that started the season. If they could make a trade for a goalie, they could become a tough match-up for many teams in the West.

PACIFIC DIVISION

SAN JOSE SHARKS {34-6-5 - 73 Points}
A+ ~ They were the best team in the NHL for the first 3 months of the season, and only Boston and Detroit is even close to them. The nice surprise of the season for the Sharks was finding out that they'll be okay with Brian Boucher between the pipes if Evgeni Nabokov should go down with an injury again. Rookie Head Coach Todd McLellan will win the Jack Adams Award, you can book it now.

PHOENIX COYOTES {24-19-5 - 53 Points}
B+ ~ Easily the surprise of the West this season. It's taken some time, but head coach Wayne Gretzky has something brewing out in the desert. Phoenix won't make too much noise this year, but the Coyotes are on the right track for the first time since early in their Phoenix days.

ANAHEIM DUCKS {23-21-5 - 51 Points}
B ~ This team has been very streaky. They started off badly, rebounded with some of the best hockey any team has played this season, plateaued, and then hit a slump right before the All-Star break. I think the break came at the perfect time for the Ducks. They are another team I wouldn't want to play in the playoffs because they are capable of beating any team on any night.

LOS ANGELES KINGS {19-20-7 - 45 Points}
C+ ~ The Kings have exceeded expectations this season. Granted, they were very low expectations, but the Kings haven't been the easy win they've been in past seasons. Like the Blackhawks, they have a young core and are positioning themselves to be a perennial Western Conference playoff team in a couple of seasons.

DALLAS STARS {20-18-7 - 47 Points}
C ~ While the Stars have been playing much better hockey since the departure of Sean Avery, the first 6 weeks of the season were absolutely brutal in Dallas. They have turned things around and they have the depth to make things interesting in the West down the stretch.

FTS - 1/26/08

(Photo Credit: AP)

Capitals LW Alexander Ovechkin scores the game-clinching goal in the shootout to lead the East to a 12-11 SO win over the West in last night's All-Star Game

What an All-Star game that was! It had everything you would expect out of an NHL All-Star game...high scoring, pretty goals, the hometown heroes shining (Canadiens goalie Carey Price only allowed two goals and captain Alexei Kovalev had two goals an an assist), a four goal comeback by the West in the 2nd period, and plenty of bonus hockey to go around. The overtime period was amazing for the lone fact that neither team scored for a whole five minute stretch with it being four on four on the ice. When the shootout came to the league's leading goal scorer in Alexander Ovechkin, he delivered. The game saw 28 different players register a point and earned a couple new entries in the record book - including the second-highest number of goals and a tie for the most combined shots. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this game last night. What's my gripe then? It was on Versus and not NBC in the United States, and that is my major gripe.

It's no secret that the hockey fans are very loyal, but they don't have the numbers that the other three major sports have. The only way to increase those numbers is to increase the exposure of the sport. If you're looking to draw the casual sports fan to watch your sport, you have to address the number one complaint of the sport. For a long time, it was the lack of scoring (which has been rectified to a point). If people want to see goals, then expose the hell out of the All-Star game. Just like the NBA All-Star game, players will take more chances offensively with the defensive play being much more relaxed than a regular season or playoff game. You can't tell me the casual sports fan wouldn't have been captivated by the way Evgeni Malkin was skating and passing last night. It was a display of worldy skills, and it was on a 2nd tier cable network.

I know nothing can be changed about the TV deal between the NHL and Versus now, but it stinks when a great game like last night's wasn't even on the radar of most sports fans. Especially on a night when there wasn't much else on besides average NBA and NCAAB games.