WTF? The Oilers are second overall and off to their best start since '85-86?
A nice surprise, eh? Pretty decent showing through the first 7 for everyone north of the border, except for Toronto.
I’m pretty happy that the Red Wings have started 5-2. It’s going to be a struggle this year to keep the consecutive-playoff-appearances streak alive. A good beginning certainly helps.
If the Leafs had some decent goaltending they’d be doing gangbusters. If only they had Curtis Joseph in his prime.
I’ve got this year’s Winter Classic on right now, and watched the “Centennial Classic” yesterday. The weather forecast is iffy in St Louis today, so we’ll see if they manage to actually complete the game at Busch Stadium.
Too bad the Leafs pulled out the overtime win over my Red Wings yesterday, but it was still fun to watch. I was pretty shocked that the Wings even got one point out of that one, considering the four straight goals they allowed.
I enjoyed watching the pre-game ceremony with the first 30-odd of the NHL’s greatest 100 players list. They’re working their way through history, so most of those guys have passed on, but family members were there to represent each one. And five of them were present. The rest of the 100 are going to be revealed at the All-Star game.
I never thought in my lifetime that the Columbus Blue Jackets would be the best team in the NHL.
I would love to offer some sort of snarky rebuttal, because Blue Jackets, but I really just can’t. Their streak may be crazy, but the numbers show them to be a solid team.
Certainly they have benefited from some of the best goal tending percentages, and shot percentages. So while I would not bank against some regression, and I would expect them to pull back some, and for the same reason expect Boston and LA to be better than their record says, they are a contender for sure.
That said if their goaltending struggles in the second half they could have troubles. But, hey, good on Columbus. Whatever you do don’t let the Pens win the division again, ok?
Former UoM hockey forward Scott Matzka, who is suffering from ALS, drops the puck at a UoM alumni vs Red Wings alumni benefit game in his honor. Big turnout from Michigan hockey, whether they knew Scott in his playing days or not.
Oh, and his 5-year-old kid got to take a penalty shot. Great story.
I put the NHL all-star game on in the background today while I was doing some chores. I think they’ve hit a good format, and it’s about time after all the various things they’ve tried in the last decade or so. Players are broken up by division, and they play a 3-on-3 mini-tournament to determine a winner. Takes the same amount of time as a regular game, the fans get to see stars play together that are usually bitter rivals, there’s little chance of injury, and it’s fairly exciting as exhibitions go.
Ugh. I get the arguments that led to this: money (of course), scheduling problems, injury concerns. But I really think international competition is great for the sport, which really can use all the help it can get in growing the fan base.