|
NHL Notes 3/27
OLD TIME HOCKEY
Last year's league leader in hits, the Stars' Brenden Morrow, has been injured for much of the year, paving the way for a new NHL hit-man. Ottawa's Chris Neil has 270 hits to date, which already tops Morrow's 234 of a year ago. Neil finished fourth last season with 230.
The only other player that was in the top 10 last season and returns again this year is Trent Hunter of the New York Islanders. His 225 hits has him close to his 230 of a year ago, when he finished second to Morrow, but it's only good enough for fourth place this time around. The rest of the top 10 are all newcomers. For one, youngster Dustin Brown of the Kings is looking like he will be a mainstay for years to come. The 22-year-old finished 13th last season with 175 hits, while this campaign he has 240 bodychecks, second only to Neil.
Other big hitters include Montreal rearguard Mike Komisarek (234), the Islanders' Sean Hill (224), the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg (220), the Islanders' Brendan Witt (215), Toronto's Chad Kilger (207), and Carolina's Erik Cole (206) and Mike Commodore (199). The Islanders have three players in the top 10, while the Senators have three players in the top 17 (Anton Volchenkov and Mike Fisher are the other two).
KING OF THE BLUELINE
The Los Angeles Kings have signed blue-chip prospect Jack Johnson to a three-year entry level deal. Johnson has decided to forego his final two years with the Michigan Wolverines and is expected to join the Kings on Thursday when they play the Vancouver Canucks. The 20-year-old will return to finish his classes after playing the final six games of the NHL season.
By most accounts, Johnson is considered to be the second best NHL prospect on the blueline. He is the type of player to make an immediate impact. In fact, Los Angeles considers him their franchise player, and this is a team that aligns the likes of Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov.
Bigger than average, but not a giant by any means, Johnson plays at a high level at both ends of the ice. He collected 16 goals and 21 assists with the Wolverines this season. He has been likened to a smaller version of Rob Blake.
DUCKS
Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 27 of 28 shots against Detroit in the lone NHL game on Monday night, but he did not get any help from the offense as the Ducks lost 1-0. Most notably, the team went 0-4 on the power play. The Ducks are off to Chicago to play the 'Hawks on Wednesday.
FLYERS
It's been no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers have wanted to lock up goaltender Martin Biron ever since they picked him up at the trade deadline. The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that a deal could be completed late Monday night that would see the 29-year-old stay put for two seasons at $3.4 million per. The Flyers have been looking to stabilize the goaltending position for several years now and Biron has been looking to be an NHL starter for almost as long. It's the perfect match.
MAPLE LEAFS
A pair of huge Eastern Conference games take place on Tuesday night that will impact the race for the highly coveted eighth and final playoff spot. Toronto takes on Carolina, who holds down that spot, while Montreal faces off against the Rangers. The Leafs are coming off a two-game set against Buffalo in which they came away with two points, suddenly finding themselves in 11th spot. They are two points behind the 'Canes, Habs and Islanders in what is proving to be quite the logjam. The Leafs will be riding the hot stick of Nik Antropov, who has five goals and seven points in his last seven contests.
PANTHERS
The Panthers have signed 29-year-old free agent Cory Murphy to a contract. The former ECHL player has spent the last several years in Europe, including this past year playing for HIFK Helsinki in Finland. Murphy is an offensive rearguard who is second on the team in scoring behind former NHLer Stephen Guolla and just ahead of Rem Murray. The Panthers also returned forward Rob Globke to Rochester and recalled Janis Sprukts.
PENGUINS
Tuesday's contest may be the final meeting of the season between Washington's Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's one-two punch of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but the Pens are focused on the big picture: catching the New Jersey Devils and claiming second spot in the Eastern Conference. Ovechkin and Crosby haven't exactly shot out the lights in head-to-head matches this year. Crosby has just three points in three games while Ovechkin has just a pair of assists. The Devils take on a desperate Islanders team on what is a busy 12-game night in the NHL.
RED WINGS
Detroit faced off against Anaheim on Monday without the services of rearguard Brett Lebda. Lebda is suffering from the effects of a concussion suffered on Saturday when he was hit awkwardly into the boards by Ville Nieminen of the Blues. Monday's contest was a defensive effort on the part of both teams, with the Wings coming out on top 1-0. Dominik Hasek kicked aside 25 saves for his seventh save of the season.
STARS
On Monday, Dallas signed 2005 third round draft pick Richard Clune to a three-year entry level contract. The 19-year-old future checking-line left wing has found an offensive dimension to his game since being placed on a line with Bryan Little (Barrie Colts, OHL). Also on Monday, diminutive forward Chris Conner was sent back to Iowa of the AHL once his lower body injury had healed. The Stars recalled rearguard Niklas Grossman from Iowa. With Darryl Sydor likely out with a hand injury sustained on the weekend, the Stars needed another body on the blueline.
THRASHERS
Atlanta lost more than just the game against Pittsburgh on Saturday. They also lost the services of pivot Eric Belanger for the time being, after he sustained a leg injury. He lost all strength in the limb and it was feeling numb when he left in the second period. Belanger is listed as questionable for the game in Florida on Wednesday.
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE (OHL)
After finishing the Ontario League campaign with just five points in his last 11 contests, Toronto blue-chipper Jiri Tlusty scored three goals in his first two playoff games for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The youngster, who celebrated his 19th birthday on March 16, missed nearly two months of the season with an ankle injury. He is a two-way force with a bright future in the NHL as a responsible first or second-line scoring threat.
AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE (AHL)
Goaltender Thomas Greiss was named the American League's player of the week on Monday after winning all three of his starts and posting a 1.67 goals against average. The 21-year-old San Jose Sharks' prospect has won seven of his last eight contests, giving up no more than two goals in any game in that span. Greiss has an excellent future as a starter in the NHL, however it may not be in a Sharks' uniform. The team is extremely deep in the position and Greiss sits sixth on the depth chart.
|
