PLUS/MINUS - 12/15/08

PLUS/MINUS is my weekly Power Rankings Column. The + or – is based on the previous weeks rankings

PLUS/MINUS

The San Jose Sharks are STILL unbeaten at home in regulation (16-0-2)

1) San Jose Sharks {24-3-2} (EVEN)
2-0-0week (won vs. ANA, STL)
The Sharks reached 50 points in the standings before Christmas...wow.

2) Boston Bruins {21-5-4} (EVEN)
3-1-0 week (won vs. TB, lost @ WAS, won @ ATL, vs. ATL)
If the Sharks weren't playing ridiculous hockey, everyone would be giving Boston the San Jose love.

3) Detroit Red Wings {20-5-4} (EVEN)
2-1-0 week (won vs. CAL, lost @ DAL, won @ PHO)
Detroit is taking care of business game in and game out and are still playing at the level everyone expected them to. Anyone else pumped for Thursday night's Sharks-Red Wings game in Hockeytown?

4) Washington Capitals {18-10-3} (+4)
3-0-0 week (won vs. BOS, OTT, @ MON)
Washington's win over Boston was very impressive. It looks like the Caps have finally settled in to the groove that vaulted them in to the playoffs last season.

5) New York Rangers {18-10-2} (EVEN)
2-0-1 week (won @ ATL, lost @ NJ, won vs. CAR)
The Rangers are treading water right now. The 3 game California road trip could either get this team back on track or derail it even further. The Rangers traditionally slump around the holidays, but they are quickly erasing the point lead they had from all of the wins from early in the season.

6) Anaheim Ducks {15-7-4} (+3)
2-0-1week (won vs. STL, lost @ SJ, won vs. MIN)
Anaheim might be the most consistent team in the league right now. They beat who they are supposed to beat. It will be interesting to see how Anaheim handles their upcoming five-game road trip.

7) Chicago Blackhawks {15-6-7} (+3)
3-0-0 week (won vs. OTT, @ COL, vs. CLB)
Chicago took advantage of some easy teams and have won four in a row. Being in 4th place in the conference and only trailing Detroit by 7 points for the division has Chicago buzzing about their Blackhawks again.

8) Philadelphia Flyers {16-7-6} (+6)
3-0-0 week (won vs. NYI, CAR, PIT)
The Flyers are back and on a roll. They've won four in row and five of their past six.

9) Montreal Canadiens {16-8-5} (-5)
1-2-0 week (won vs. CAL, lost vs. TB and WAS
The Canadiens haven't had a great December. They haven't looked good on the ice in the past few weeks. That being said, it's good to get these slumps out of the way early.

10) Vancouver Canucks {17-11-3} (+1)
2-0-1 week (won @ NAS, lost @ EDM, won vs. FLA)
The Canucks are the best team in the division and are doing it by winning games within the division (6-3-2 this season)

11) New Jersey Devils {16-9-2} (+2)
2-1-0 week (won vs. PIT, NYR, lost vs. BUF)
If Anaheim is the most consistent team in the West, this is the most consistent team in the East right now. Who would have thought Scott Clemmensen would keep the Devils sailing smoothly.

12) Calgary Flames {16-11-3} (-5)
0-1-2 week (lost @ MON, OTL @ DET, SOL vs. FLA)
We've seen this pattern from Calgary all season. Win a bunch in a row, drop a bunch in a row. They're lucky Minnesota is skidding in the standings right now.

13) Pittsburgh Penguins {16-10-4} (-7)
1-3-0 week (lost vs. BUF, lost @ NJ, won vs. NYI, lost @ PHI)
It looks like Dany Sabourin's hot streak has worn down (he's lost his last four starts). Pittsburgh has lost 5 of its last 7. I wouldn't be too worried about their recent play if I was a Penguins fan because they have too much talent to stay in this funk for long.

14) Buffalo Sabres {15-12-3} (+3)
3-1-0 week (won @ PIT, vs. TB, lost vs. TOR, won @ NJ)
It looks like the Sabres are finding the groove again, winning 4 of their past 5. Ryan Miller hasn't surrendered more than three goals in a start since a 7-4 shellacking at the hands of the Bruins on 11/19.

15) Nashville Predators {15-12-3} (EVEN)
1-2-1 week (lost @ STL, lost vs. VAN, SOL @ CLB, won vs. DAL)
Nashville struggled this week but is still playing solid hockey. Other than a game against the Red Wings, Nashville has a chance to gain some points in the standings with the rest of their December schedule.

16) Minnesota Wild {15-13-1} (-4)
0-3-0 week (lost @ PHO, @ LA, @ ANA)
Minnesota has lost five in a row and went 0-4 on their road trip. Minnesota will get a chance to get going again with upcoming games vs. CAL, vs. NYI, @ STL, vs. CAR

17) Phoenix Coyotes {14-13-3} (+7)
2-0-1 week (won @ DAL, vs. MIN, SOL vs. DET)
Wayne Gretzky has the Coyotes playing solid, consistent hockey right now. The rest of their December schedule gives them a chance to to really build on their good play and get them in the top 8 in the West.

18) Edmonton Oilers {14-12-2} (EVEN)
1-1-0 week (lost vs. FLA, won vs. CAN)
Beating Florida at home would have gone a long way, but they are playing at the level they should be right now.

19) Carolina Hurricanes {13-12-5} (-3)
0-0-2 week (SOL @ PHI, SOL @ NYR)
Carolina's season is circling the drain and they need to do something quickly. Maybe Peter Laviolette wasn't the problem

20) Los Angeles Kings {13-12-4} (EVEN)
2-1-0 week (lost @ COL, won vs. STL, MIN)
Los Angeles has won three of four after losing three straight. It looks a few games off for G Erik Ersberg is exactly what he needed to get back on track (he was responsible for both wins this week)

21) Florida Panthers {14-13-3} (+2)
3-1-0 week (won @ OTT, @ EDM, @ CAL, lost @ VAN)
The 4 game Canadian road trip went very well for Florida. They've won six of their past eight and are only two points out of 8th in the East. It might be a good idea to hold on to D Jay Bouwmeester for a while to see if Florida can get some momentum.

22) Columbus Blue Jackets {13-14-3} (EVEN)
2-1-0 week (won vs. NAS, NYI, lost @ CHI)
Blue Jackets fans are waiting to see if Steve Mason can carry the load as the #1 goalie. If he can, there should be a market for Pascal Leclaire to bring back a scorer to Columbus.

23) Colorado Avalanche {14-14-1} (-4)
1-1-0 week (won vs. LA, lost vs. CHI)
They didn't drop four spots so much as other teams passed them. If they split their four game road trip (DET, PHI, TB, FLA), they should be happy.

24) Toronto Maple Leafs {11-12-6} (+4)
2-0 week (won vs. NYI, @ BUF)
Toronto took care of business against two beatable teams this week. No matter what their record says, they can put up a fight against almost any team in the league.

25) Ottawa Senators {11-12-5} (EVEN)
1-2-0 week (lost @ CHI, @ WAS, won vs. TB)
Ottawa didn't play well at all on the road this week but Tampa was the right medicine to right the ship. The jury is still out on whether this is the Ottawa team we should expect for the rest of the season or if they're a lion waiting in the weeds.

26) St. Louis Blues {12-14-3} (-5)
0-3-0 week (lost @ ANA, @ LA, @ SJ)
The California road swing was brutal on St. Louis. St. Louis has constitently continuted their pattern of win a few, lose a few, win one, lose one throughout the season.

27) Dallas Stars {11-14-4} (-1)
1-2-0 week (lost vs. PHO, won vs. DET, lost @ NAS)
Now that the Stars have officially parted ways with Sean Avery, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic of this team changes. Their next four games are PHO, CLB, @ OTT and @ TOR so they'll get a chance to build some momentum.

28) Atlanta Thrashers {9-16-4} (+1)
0-2-1 week (OTL vs. NYR, lost vs. BOS, @ BOS)
The only reason they moved up a spot is because the Islanders played so bad this week. Surprsingly, they are 4-1-2 in the Southeast Division. If they could only play Southeast teams and the Islanders, they'd have a record that rivaled the Bruins.

29) New York Islanders {10-18-2} (-2)
0-4-0 week (lost @ TOR, @ PHI, @ PIT, @ CLB)
The Islanders were happy to end that four game road trip. They have now lost six in a row. When you look at the Isles roster, you can understand the bad play, unlike...

30) Tampa Bay Lightning {7-15-8} (EVEN)
1-3-0 week (lost @ BOS, @ BUF, won @ MON, lost @ OTT)
The sad part about the Lightning is that they aren't getting beaten badly. All of their losses have been within two goals since they were crushed by the Devils 7-3 on 11/23. That being said, they have lost 10 of their past 11.

BIGGEST GAINER = Phoenix Coyotes (+7)
BIGGEST LOSER = Pittsburgh Penguins (-7)
-11 Teams Moved Up
-9 Teams Moved Down
-10 Teams Remained Even

FTS - 12/15/08

TOP STORY

ALONE IN THE LONE STAR STATE

(Photo Credit: AP)

While this photo was only taken a mere few months ago, Sean Avery's days with the Stars are done

Just 23 games into a four-year, $15.5 million guaranteed contract, the Dallas Stars say they can not move forward with winger Sean Avery. Avery, who was signed as a free agent on July 2, will no longer play for the Stars, and the team will look to help him move on with his career and his life, co-general manager Brett Hull said Sunday. The contract is guaranteed, so there is a chance for the Stars to lose a lot of money. But the fact they are willing to risk that loss shows how much Avery has alienated players and team officials.

"Simply put, I think it was a bad marriage and it was time to separate," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "You can continue to work at something like this, but we felt we had put a lot of work in and it just wasn't moving forward. This way, I believe both sides can move forward." Avery was suspended for six games by the NHL for conduct detrimental to the league on Dec. 2 when he made an unsavory comment to the media about the relationship between his ex-girlfriend – actress Elisha Cuthbert – and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. The suspension expired Sunday, and Avery was eligible to return to the team. However, the Stars said they took the time away from Avery to discuss their relationship with the agitating winger and decided the organization would be best served if Avery did not return. They also said they would not try to nullify the contract by saying Avery broke morality clauses.

Avery is in a behavioural modification program run by the NHL Players Association and is getting treatment for anger management. One of the stipulations of the program is that the Stars must communicate to Avery through his representatives, Hull said. As such, they will await an update from Avery's agent, Pat Morris, to see if there is a time this season when Avery would like to return to play hockey.

While I think this move is a little extreme, I understand why Dallas is doing this. The main question here is whether or not Avery should have been given a 2nd chance. In most situations, I think there should have been at least one attempt to work the player back in to the locker room and see if he can mesh with the team a 2nd time around. But, when Avery was first suspended, the vibe that was coming out of the Stars locker room was relief. If you go back and read the quotes, they were basically saying "Finally, we can focus on Stars hockey now." Avery wore out his welcome within two months in Dallas, which has to be some sort of record.

I am a Sean Avery fan. I love what he brings to the team on the ice, both talent-wise and verbally towards the other team. While what he said wasn't the smartest thing in the world, it wasn't necessarily wrong. That being said, Avery needs to develop the smarts and brains on what to open his mouth about and when to open that. If he can do that and learn how to be more of a team player, he can be a valuable asset to a team. Until that point though, he is going to be seen as a big cancer to any locker room and is going to have to put in extra effort to be accepted on whatever team he ends up on (Dallas will take some tape and practice pucks for him at this point). Avery has to be on a team where there is at least one indisputable leader of the clubhouse that even Avery will listen to. When he was on the Rangers, he had Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan in the same room to hold him accountable. Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow, while they are both great players, don't have the same effect. When an AHL team like the Manitoba Moose say "Thanks but no thanks" on taking a guy like Avery on their squad, that should sum up how bad the problem is.

OTHER HEADLINES

-San Jose Sharks center Jeremy Roenick probably will be out for three weeks because of a shoulder problem that landed him on the injured list Sunday. Roenick was hurt in the first period of the NHL-leading Sharks' 2-0 victory over Anaheim on Thursday night, crashing against the boards on a hit by defenseman Brett Festerling. Roenick returned to the game, but later tests revealed torn cartilage in his shoulder. San Jose coach Todd McLellan said Saturday that Roenick, who's in his 20th NHL season, will likely be out until January. Roenick has three goals and five assists during limited ice time in 28 games for the Sharks. He has thrived on San Jose's fourth line during his two seasons with the club, mentoring his young teammates and providing veteran leadership. With Roenick sidelined, the Sharks recalled forward Lukas Kaspar from their AHL affiliate in Worcester before Saturday night's 5-4 win over the St. Louis Blues.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

Chicago Blackhawks (15-6-7) over the Columbus Blue Jackets (13-14-3) 3-1
TOP PERFORMER = Blackhawks G Cristobal Huet - 31 saves
-Frederik Modin put Columbus on the board in the 1st period, but Patrick Sharp would tie the game on the power play with :01 remaining in the 2nd period. Martin Havlat scored the game winner halfway in to the 3rd period and Brent Seabrook would add an empty net goal. Duncan Keith had two assists in the win. Chicago is 8-2-2 in its last 12 games. Columbus has only one win in its last six games against Chicago.

Anaheim Ducks (17-11-3) over the Minnesota Wild (15-13-1) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Ducks D Chris Pronger - 2 Assists, +3, 25:26 ice time
-Ryan Getzlaf (13th of the season) and Corey Perry put the Ducks up 2-0 in the 1st period before Marc-Andre Bergeron cut the lead in half on the power play. In the 2nd period, Eric Belanger would tie the game up, but Brendan Morrison and Bobby Ryan would each score to put the Ducks ahead for good. Chris Kunitz chipped in with two assists for the Ducks while Jean-Sebastian Giguere made 26 saves for the win. Josh Harding turned away 30 shots in the loss. The Ducks have won five straight home games and are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. Before this game, Minnesota had not scored more than one goal in its previous four games.

Vancouver Canucks (17-11-3) over the Florida Panthers (14-13-3) 5-3
TOP PERFORMER = Canucks RW Pavol Demitra - 2 Goals
-The Panthers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from defensemen Nick Boynton and Jay Bouwmeester. Darcy Hordichuk made it 2-1 before the end of the 1st period. In the 2nd period, Pavol Demitra scored back to back goals (one of them on the power play), Kyle Wellwood added a power play goal and Ryan Kesler scored shorthanded to give Vancouver a 5-2 lead heading in to the 3rd period. Michael Frolik scored the Panthers last goal in the 3rd period. LW Cory Stillman returned to the Florida lineup after missing 13 games with post-concussion symptoms, but lost C Stephen Weiss to an upper-body injury late in the first period. Weiss, who has five goals and 16 points on the season, did not return and was taken to the hospital for X-rays.

RUMOR MILL

-Mats Sundin took in Saturday night's encounter between the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes and met with Rangers brass following the game. The 37-year old Swede and his Swedish representation Claes Elefalk sat down with Rangers' President and general manager Glen Sather, Senior advisor to President & GM and Director of U.S. Scouting Mike Barnett and Rangers' head coach Tom Renney. The meeting was described as relaxed and informal. While the Rangers have not made an offer; team representatives have made it clear that they want Sundin in the Big Apple.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-Phoenix Coyotes forward Brian McGrattan has voluntarily entered stage 1 of the NHL and NHL Players Association Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program. The right winger will receive his full salary and benefits under the terms of the program providing he complies with the prescribed treatment under Dr. Dave Lewis of the NHL and the NHLPA's Dr. Brian Shaw. McGrattan, 27, appeared in only three games for Phoenix this season without registering a point and accumulating 12 penalty minutes. For his career, he has posted two goals and eight assists with 299 penalty minutes over his 146-game NHL career with the Coyotes and Ottawa.

-The Anaheim Ducks traded forward Brian Sutherby to the Dallas Stars for the rights to collegian David McIntyre and a conditional draft pick. Sutherby is playing his seventh season in the NHL, putting up 29 goals and 39 assists in 321 career games played between the Ducks and Washington Capitals. McIntyre is a member of the Colgate Raiders at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where he leads the team in points; five goals and seven assists in 14 games.
-The Toronto Maple Leafs assigned defenceman Anton Stralman to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. Stralman has played in 21 games for the Maple Leafs, recording one goal and six assists. He also posted a plus-one rating while averaging 15:51 of ice time. His lone goal of the season was the game-winning marker as the Leafs defeated Boston 4-2 on the road on October 23rd.

TONIGHT'S ACTION

% Colorado (14-14-1) @ Detroit (20-5-4) - 7PM
San Jose (24-3-2) @ Los Angeles (13-12-4) - 10:30PM

% = Game of the Night
^ALL TIMES EASTERN


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

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out Wednesday evenings

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR EMAIL ANYTIME HERE OR AT FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM

FTS - 12/11/08

TOP STORY

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

(Photo Credit: AP)
Brent Johnson keeps Chuck Kobasew's efforts at bay

Washington Capitals (16-10-3) over the Boston Bruins (19-5-3) 3-1
TOP PERFORMER = Capitals G Brent Johnson - 33 Saves

It may still be December, but anytime you get a match-up of two divison leaders within the conference, it usually provides some top-notch hockey. The fans at the Verizon Center in Washington last night got a great hockey game and also a huge win for their Capitals.

In a game that was referred to as a "measuring stick" for the Caps, they showed up and played a strong game from the opening face off to the final horn. Nicklas Backstrom opened the scoring for Washington in the 1st period on a feed from Alexander Ovechkin and Viktor Kozlov. In the 2nd period, Alexandre Giroux, who was recently called up, scored his first goal of the season on a set up from Kozlov and Tom Poti. With 35 seconds remaining in the period, Milan Lucic cut the deficit to one with Phil Kessel (who extended his points streak to 13 games, tied with Malkin for the longest streak this season) and Zdeno Chara getting the assists. That would be as close as the Bruins would come to the Caps. Ovechkin added an empty netter to seal the deal for Washington. Brent Johnson made 33 saves, many of them quality saves, and Manny Fernandez made 23 saves in the loss.

Rave reviews were being passed around about the performance of Brent Johnson last night from both teams. "Pretty outstanding," Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau said about Johnson's performance. "You need that kind of goaltending to win. And when we needed him, he was there." "Extraordinary," Bruins winger Blake Wheeler said. "He's pulling some saves out of thin air." Johnson won his past three starts to improve to 8-4-2 with a 2.47 goals-against average and .918 save percentage, raising the question of whether Boudreau might give him more starts at the expense of Jose Theodore, the 2002 league MVP who joined the Capitals on a $9 million, two-year deal last offseason. Theodore's numbers: 8-6-1, 3.08, .888. Asked if he feels he deserves more playing time, Johnson replied: "No. I feel that I'm going to play whenever Coach tells me to play. That's it." Boudreau was asked about his goalie situation. "You want to start a goaltending controversy -- is that what you want? Theo will get his chance to get in again. I mean, I don't have a controversy by any stretch, but, you know, you want to ride the hot hand. Johnnie's hot right now," Boudreau said.

The Bruins had won five consecutive games and 14 of 16 before last night's loss. Up next for Boston is a home and home with the Thrashers, starting in Atlanta on Friday night. Up next for the Capitals is a home game against the struggling Senators on Friday night.

OTHER HEADLINES

-Sean Avery's fate in Dallas remains in limbo after the suspended forward met with members of the Stars' management team and owner Tom Hicks on Wednesday afternoon. "No comments until after the NHL's suspension ends," Hicks told TSN via email on Wednesday night.Avery is currently serving a six-game suspension for making offensive remarks about ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert, who is currently dating Calgary Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf. Avery's suspension runs through Dallas' game Saturday night at Nashville. He's eligible to return Tuesday against Phoenix. Even when Avery returns, it's unlikely he will be back in the Stars' lineup. As it stands, there are three likely scenarios the Stars will take with him - suspend him without pay after the league's punishment ends, suspend him with pay and arrange for him to receive counseling or place him on waivers and arrange a buyout at the end of the season. The latest developments come amidst speculation that the Stars could be heading for a front office upheaval. According to a report in The Hockey News, Brett Hull may soon be done as co-general manager to take on another role within the organization and leave the hockey matters to Les Jackson. The report adds that Hull, named to the post last November, has not been fulfilling his duties as GM by assessing the Star's minor-league prospects and hasn't made any scouting trips. However, Hull's fate in the front office may come back to his insistence of signing Avery to a four-year, $15 million deal this past summer. (Courtesy - TSN.ca)

-The Colorado Avalanche will be without captain Joe Sakic for longer than they originally expected. Sakic will miss approximately three months after undergoing surgery on Tuesday night to repair three broken fingers and tendon damage after an incident with a snow blower. He was already out six weeks as he recovered from his herniated disc in his back."Joe's surgery was performed by a hand specialist," said Avalanche Team Doctor Andy Parker. "The procedure went well and he's expected to make a full recovery." Sakic is actually fortunate that the injury was not worse. Reportedly the future Hall of Famer was attempting to dislodge some wet snow from around the blades. While the blower was off, when the snow was cleared the torque from the blades jammed his hand. Sakic suffered five broken bones in his hand and required pins in all three injured fingers. Sakic has only played in 15 games this season, recording two goals and 10 assists.

LAST NIGHT'S RECAP

Buffalo Sabres (14-11-3) over the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-14-8) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Sabres LW Thomas Vanek - 2 goals
-The Lightning jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period thanks to goals from Martin St. Louis and Mark Recchi. Drew Stafford would answer back on the power play with :38 remaining in the 1st period to cut the lead to 1. In the 2nd period, Thomas Vanek would score goals #21 and #22 on the season (one of them on the power play) to put the Sabres ahead for good. Jason Pominville would add a shorthanded empty net goal late in the game. Lightning G Mike Smith made 33 saves in the loss while Ryan Miller stopped 26 shots to earn the win. Lightning forward Ryan Malone missed his third straight game because of an upper-body injury.Tampa Bay fell to 1-7-3 in its last 11 road games, including eight straight losses.

New Jersey Devils (15-8-2) over the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-9-4) 4-1
TOP PERFORMER = Devils G Scott Clemmensen - 26 Saves
-Travis Zajac would open the scoring in the 2nd period on a great hustle play. In the 3rd period, Zach Parise (16th goal of the season) and Dainius Zubrus scored goals before Matt Cooke finally got the Penguins on the board. Patrick Elias scored an empty netter to seal the game. Colin White, Jamie Langenbrunner and Bryce Salvador each had two assists for the Devils.

New York Rangers (19-10-2) over the Atlanta Thrashers (9-14-4) 3-2 (OT)
TOP PERFORMER = Rangers C Scott Gomez - 1 Goal (GW)

-Rangers winger Colton Orr got the Rangers on the board with his first goal in over a year on a rebound. Joey Crabb answered back for Atlanta with his first career goal. In the 3rd period, Ryan Callahan (SHG) and Ilya Kovalchuk would trade goals to keep the game tied at 2 heading in to overtime. In the extra session, Scott Gomez went coast to coast on a great hustle play to give the Rangers the road win. Rangers D Wade Redden had 3 assists for the Blueshirts. Rangers backup G Stephen Valiquette made 27 saves in the win while Johan Hedberg made 31 saves in the loss. New York has allowed two goals or less in 20 of its 31 games this season and improved to 7-2 against the Southeast Division.

Detroit Red Wings (19-4-4) over the Calgary Flames (16-11-2) 4-3 (OT)

TOP PERFORMER = Red Wings D Brian Rafalski - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
-Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow put the Flames up 2-0 heading in to the 1st intermission. In the 2nd period, Valtteri Flippula cut the lead to 1 goal in the 2nd period for Detroit. In the 3rd period, David Moss would score on the power play to give the Flames another two goal lead. It would be short lived as Henrik Zetterberg scored one minute later and then Brian Rafalski would tie the game four minutes after that. In overtime, Nicklas Lidstrom scored the game winner on a feed from Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk. Johan Franzen and Dan Cleary had two assists for Detroit and Dion Phanuef had two assists for Calgary. Ty Conklin made 29 saves in the win while Flames backup G Curtis McElhinney turned away 35 pucks in a good effort for Calgary. It was McElhinney's 2nd start of the season. The Red Wings improved to 13-1-4 in one-goal games this season.

Chicago Blackhawks (13-6-7) over the Ottawa Senators (10-11-5) 2-0

TOP PERFORMER = Blackhawks G Cristobal Huet - 23 Saves, shutout

-Patrick Kane scored on the power play 5:17 in to the 1st period on a feed from Patrick Sharp and that would be all the Blackhawks would need. Troy Brouwer added an empty-netter. It was Huet's first NHL shutout since March 29, 2008, against Florida when he was with Washington and the 18th of his career. Martin Gerber made 28 saves in the loss for Ottawa. The Blackhawks had their 14th straight home sellout, two more than all of last season.

Phoenix Coyotes (13-13-2) over the Dallas Stars (10-13-4) 5-3

TOP PERFORMER = Coyotes C Martin Hanzal- 2 Goals

-Dallas and Phoenix would be tied at 2 after the 1st period thanks to goals from Trevor Daley, James Neal (PPG), Martin Hanzal, and Olli Jokinen (PPG). This was Jokinen's first game since 11/26. In the 2nd period, Fabian Brunnstrom scored 8:56 in, but Jokinen would tie the game back up with :04 remaining in the period on the power play. In the 3rd period, Hanzal scored again to put Phoenix up for good. Steve Reinprecht added an empty net goal. Ilya Bryzgalov and Marty Turco both made 29 saves in the game.

Anaheim Ducks (16-10-3) over the St. Louis Blues (12-12-3) 4-2
TOP PERFORMER = Ducks C Brendan Morrison - 1 Goal (GWG)

-BJ Crombeen and George Parros would trade goals within a minute of one another in the 1st period to keep the game tied going in to the 1st intermission. In the 2nd period, Chris Kunitz would put the Ducks ahead on the power play on a feed from Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne. In the 3rd period, Brad Boyes would tie the game back up on the power play for St. Louis at 12:53. Four and a half minutes later, Brendan Morrison would pot the game winner on a set up from Todd Marchant and Selanne. Chris Kunitz scored an empty-netter for his 2nd goal of the game. Jean-Sebastian Giguere made 26 saves in the win. St. Louis goalie Manny Legace left after being kneed in the head late in the first period, and Chris Mason replaced him. Legace faced 11 shots and allowed one goal, and Mason gave up two goals on 24 shots.

RUMOR MILL

-The Rangers and Oilers are in trade discussions. No word on potential names involved yet.

AROUND THE BOARDS

-The Montreal Canadiens will be without defenceman Mathieu Dandenault for an extended period of time after he underwent an operation to repair a broken bone in his arm. Dandenault suffered the injury when he received a hard hit by Flames forward Dustin Boyd during the second period of Tuesday's 4-1 win over Calgary. In addition, the team is also waiting results of an MRI on forward Chris Higgins, who left during the second period of Tuesday's game with an "upper body injury." Higgins will miss tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

GAME OF THE NIGHT
Anaheim Ducks (16-10-3) @ San Jose Sharks (22-3-2) - 10:30PM

The top dogs of the Pacific Division will battle for the 3rd time this season. San Jose opened their season with a 4-1 win at home, but then lost 4-0 in Anaheim a couple of weeks later. The Sharks are coming off a 3-2 OT loss to the Oilers on Saturday night. It was only their 2nd loss at home this season (no home regulation losses yet though). After scoring five times in a win over visiting Columbus on Sunday, the Ducks posted a 4-2 home victory over St. Louis last night. Anaheim enters having won six of its last eight, but both of those losses came on the road, where the Ducks are 7-4-1 overall. They had won six straight at HP Pavilion before losing their last two visits there.

Other Action:
Tampa Bay (6-14-8) @ Montreal (16-6-4) - 7PM
Carolina (13-12-3) @ Philadelphia (14-7-6) - 7PM
Nashville(14-12-2) @ Columbus (11-13-3) - 7PM
NY Islanders (10-16-2) @ Pittsburgh (15-9-4) - 7:30PM
Florida (12-12-3) @ Edmonton (13-11-2) - 9PM
Minnesota (15-10-1) @ Phoenix (13-13-2) - 9PM
St. Louis (12-12-3) @ Los Angeles (11-12-4) - 10:30PM

^ALL TIMES EASTERN


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

~Dropping the Gloves with Andrew Bogusch comes out Wednesday evenings

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT OR EMAIL ANYTIME HERE OR AT FROMTHESLOT@GMAIL.COM

DROPPING THE GLOVES W/ ANDREW BOGUSCH - 12/10/08

It is decision time for Sean Avery. Not only is Stars owner Tom Hicks meeting today with co-general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson to discuss Avery’s future with the organization, but Avery must now decide his future in the sport.

The sad part of all the Avery drama is people forgetting how good of a player he is. The numbers are not there this season, but Avery is a tremendous skater, a solid playmaker, and can be used in any situation. He can be a key cog on a Stanley Cup-winning team.

Or he can take his notoriety and walk away from the game. He can become a full-time celebrity, date more hot actresses, and further explore his love for the fashion world.

And it appears Avery will need to make this decision while attached to another organization.

Although its options are somewhat limited, it is more likely than not that Dallas will rid itself of Avery. The team could look to trade him, but he certainly has little value right now. His $3.875-million-dollar salary makes a waiver claim unlikely. The most probable scenario is Avery clearing waivers and being demoted to the AHL, but the Stars do not have a direct affiliate down there, so they would have to find a taker for Avery. The Manitoba Moose have already said no thanks.

Avery has done an unprecedented job of alienating himself from the hockey establishment. Here in the States, we have grown accustomed to misbehaving pro athletes, but none have suffered the backlash Avery is dealing with right now. No Dallas Cowboy spoke out when Jerry Jones acquired Pacman Jones. No Cincinnati Bengal boo-hooed when the troubled Chris Henry re-signed with the organization. Those guys had committed crimes; Jones is connected to a shooting that left a man paralyzed.

Three unnamed Star teammates told TSN that the dressing room is far better off without Avery. One went as far as saying, “There isn’t much he can say to change the way we feel right now. We have a lot of pride in this organization. He isn’t welcome here anymore.”

Head coach Dave Tippett added this: “I’m trying to build a team where the players care about each other, that has continuity. I find it hard to believe that Sean could come back into the room and we would have that continuity.”

This all began with Avery making a conscious choice to cause controversy. Gary Bettman has weighed in, and the Stars will soon, too. But only Avery can write the ending to this story. For those of us who appreciate what he can do on the ice, let’s hope he decides to behave and keep playing.
* * *

One last thought on Avery’s overall punishment. Back in November 1997, Chris Simon received a 3-game suspension for directing a racial epithet at Mike Grier. There is no comparison between that and “sloppy seconds”. The punishment scale for improper remark cannot have inflated 100% in 11 years…


Good for Barry Melrose to lash out at management in Tampa Bay Tuesday on Toronto’s Fan 590. Oren Koules and Len Barrie’s firing of Melrose embarrassed one of the game’s best current ambassadors. Melrose absolved Koules of most of the blame, while indirectly pointing the finger at Barrie, who apparently badgered Melrose daily about who was and was not playing for the Lightning…

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