Games of the Week:
Saturday, December 6: Minnesota at Vancouver—A playoff rematch from last year, when the Wild rallied from a deficit to beat the Canucks in seven games.
Saturday, December 6: New Jersey at Ottawa—Last year’s Eastern Conference Final rematch. Despite Ottawa’s lackluster start, this game still promises to carry a lot of intensity.
Rollin’:
Philadelphia Flyers—One of two teams making a return to the Rollin’ list this week, Philadelphia is flying high, having an 11-game unbeaten streak just snapped Monday in Ottawa. The Flyers are still unbeaten in 12 games at home, boasting a record of (10-0-2-0).
New Jersey Devils—The Devils were even hotter than Philadelphia recently. They carried a 13-game unbeaten streak into last Friday’s game against Dallas, but were beaten 2-0. The streak, however, tied for the longest in Devils franchise history.
Nashville Predators—After lingering in the basement for much of this season, the Predators have finally started to break out, winning eight of their last 10, behind the efforts of rookie defenseman Marek Zidlicky, who leads the team with 17 points.
Stumblin’:
Chicago Blackhawks—Chicago has not won a game since November 7, and has not scored more than three goals in a single game all season, despite allowing five or more goals in four different games. An anemic offense and trouble with the management are both pointing to another long season for the Chicago faithful.
New York Islanders—After racing off to an early share of the Atlantic Division lead with Philadelphia and New Jersey, the Isles have dropped eight of their last 10, including being outscored 13-1 in their last three games of November.
Pittsburgh Penguins—Trading Martin Straka to the Los Angeles Kings for a pair of no-name players represents the nadir of Pittsburgh’s fire sale, in which they’ve been trading away their stars for their future, and for monetary purposes. Jagr, Lang, Hrdina, Kovalev, Kasparaitis, and now Straka have all been traded away for next to nothing in the past few years.
On Fire:
Markus Naslund, Vancouver Canucks—With 12 points (4-8) in his last five games, he’s helped Vancouver to the best record in the NHL, and has regained the league lead in points with 32 (11-21).
Sergei Gonchar, Washington Capitals—He’s amassed six assists in his last five games, and his 22 assists rank second in the league, and his 24 points are first among defenseman.
Bill Guerin, Dallas Stars—One of the premier power forwards in the league, and a force in front of the opposition’s net, the Worcester, Mass. native has 11 points in his last eight games, and 25 points (15-10) in 25 games this season.
Ice Cold:
Steve Sullivan, Chicago Blackhawks—Normally a dependable scorer, Sullivan only has two points in his last 10 games, and his struggles can likely be attributed to his team’s dismal performance of late.
Oleg Kvasha/Jason Blake, New York Islanders—The pair has been relied on recently to lead the Islanders offense, but has only mustered four points combined in the team’s last 10 games.
Key Injuries:
Alexander Mogilny, Toronto Maple Leafs—Alexander the Great underwent arthroscopic surgery on his hip and is expected to miss up to three months recovering.
Philippe Boucher, Dallas Stars—A mainstay of the Dallas defense, Boucher was placed on injured reserve Monday after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left orbital bone. He took a puck to the face in last Friday’s game against New Jersey.
Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche—The Swedish Superstar was placed on injured reserve due a torn abdominal muscle. Foresberg will be back for Colorado on Thursday.
The Ex-Files:
Adam Oates ’85 has no points in two games after signing a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers.
Joe Juneau ’91 is 1-6-7 in 24 games with the struggling Montreal Canadiens.
Matt Murley ’02 has three goals and 12 assists in 15 games with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
Eric Healey ’98 is 9-8-17 with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves.
Nolan Graham ’03 has two goals and two assists in 16 games with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL.
Danny Eberly ’03 was released by the AHL’s Worcester Icecats after being signed to a professional tryout contract. Eberly had one goal in his only game with the Icecats, and will be sent back down to the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the ECHL.
