Games of the Week

Thursday, February 26 features three great games featuring six of the league’s top teams.

Toronto at Tampa Bay—Despite losing goalie Ed Belfour, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still a force in the league, and take to the south to face the speedy Tampa Bay Lightning.

Philadelphia at Ottawa—It’s a battle of division leaders as the league-leading Senators host a high-flying Philadelphia team that shows little sign of slowing down.

San Jose at Vancouver—San Jose is finally starting to live up to expectations this year, and has a comfortable lead over Dallas in their division. They travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on an always-dangerous Vancouver team.

Rollin’

Detroit Red Wings—Red Hot Wings is more like it. Despite an intense goalie controversy, the team has been unstoppable lately, going 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, including wins over New Jersey, San Jose, and Colorado.

Nashville Predators—The team is finally realizing their chances to make the playoffs, holding sixth in the Western Conference, and making appropriate moves. They acquired Steve Sullivan from the Blackhawks, who has 10 points in his first four games with the team.

Buffalo Sabres—One of the more maligned teams in the league in recent years, this team is finally starting to catch glimpses of a bright future. Few would have predicted the Sabers would even be in contention for the playoffs, but after taking seven of their last ten games, they sit just five points out of a playoff spot.

Stumblin’

Pittsburgh Penguins—This team should be a permanent fixture in the Stumblin’ section. They’ve lost 18 games in a row, and 14 in a row at home. The Penguins have not won since January 12 at Philadelphia, and have not won at home since December 29, when they hosted the equally dismal Chicago Blackhawks.

New York Rangers—Apparently, trading for superstar Jaromir Jagr and his $11 million salary wasn’t the right answer. The team is 4-8 since acquiring Jagr, and has fallen to 13 points out of a playoff spot. If the team misses the playoffs, it will mark the seventh consecutive year of futility for the team. Despite Steinbrenner-like spending the Rangers have been unable to get the job done, and in the shadow of the Yankees success all those in the Rangers organization better be mindful of that their jobs are never secure, especially in New York.

On Fire

Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators—Since being traded from Chicago, the diminutive winger has five goals and five assists in four games, and Nashville is in the hunt for a playoff spot. Sullivan was honored when he was named NHL player of the week for the week ending February 22.

Scott Walker, Nashville Predators—Sullivan’s teammate has two goals and eight assists in his last five games.

Scott Gomez, New Jersey Devils—Gomez has been on an assist spree of late, with nine to accompany his two goals in the last five games. The spree included a five-point game against the Rangers, a 7-3 Devils victory.

Ice Cold

Dan Cloutier, Vancouver Canucks—The Canuck netminder has struggled lately, giving up seven goals in his last two games, a pair of losses to Calgary and Atlanta.

Zdeno Chara and Wade Redden, Ottawa Senators—The blueline pairing is often called on to step up and contribute for Ottawa, but they haven’t done so lately, combining for just two points in their last five games.

The Ex-Files

Adam Oates ’85 has a goal and eight assists in 40 games with the Edmonton Oilers.

Joe Juneau ’91 has four goals and ten assists in 56 games with the Montreal Canadiens.

Brad Tapper ’01 has enjoyed success with the Ottawa Senators organization. The winger has 11 points in 13 games with the AHL affiliate in Binghamton.

Marc Cavosie ’03 is 7-16-23 in 56 games with the Houston Aeros, AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.

Matt Murley ’02 was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 22. The forward was 10-20-30 in 46 games with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.

Eric Healey ’98 is 22-19-41 in 57 games with the Chicago Wolves.

Neil Little ’94 saw action for the Philadelphia Flyers when Robert Esche and Jeff Hackett both went down to injury. Little is now back down with the Phantoms of the AHL, with a 1.93 goal-against average and a .923 save percentage in 26 games.

Nolan Graham ’03 is 4-12-16 in 23 games with the ECHL’s Long Beach Ice Dogs.

Danny Eberly ’03 is 2-11-13 in 48 games with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the ECHL.