February 05, 2004
NHL Roundup
In Philadelphia, Antero Nittymaki stopped 19 shots in his NHL debut, giving the Flyers' 5-1 win over Washington. With Robert Esche out three weeks with an MCL tear, and Jeff Hackett still shaking off the effects of ertigo, the rookie will also get the call Thursday night in Atlanta. After the win, Philly stood atop the Eastern Conference with 70 points, just a point aheadd of idle Toronto.
Don't look now, but the Stars continue to win, stopping Columbus 1-0. Jason Arnott got the game's only goal, as Marty Turco got his 26th win for Dallas. After looking out of it just a few weeks ago, the Stars are now in sixth place in the West, just three points behind division leader San Jose.
It was Mike Richter Night at Madison Square Garden, as the Rangers honored the goalie who led them to the 1994 Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, Marian Gaborik spoiled the party when his third period goal gave the Wild a 4-3 win over New York.
Oli Jokinen had two goals as Florida beat Phoenix in OT, 5-4. The humanization of Brian Boucher continues. In Edmonton, St. Louis' winless skid hit eight, as Edmonton scored four second period goals in a 5-3 win. And out in Anaheim, the Ducks beat the Hurricanes, 3-2.
Colby Cosh has been looking at goal differential, and has declared Nashville the luckiest team in the NHL. Peter White and I had a similar conversation about Pythagorean standings in baseball a couple of months ago, and we knocked around the possibility that the difference between projected and actual results might be laid at the feet of the manager. I'm not sure you can posit the same theory in hockey.
One of those unlucky teams according to Colby was the Ottawa Senators. Looking to add some toughness to the lineup, it looks like the Sens might want to bring back enforcer Rob Ray. Then again, having Rayopen and close the door to the bench for the rest of your players can get to the ice might not be the most productive use of a roster spot.
The woes of the Pittsburgh Penguins have attracted the attention of the New York Times. Joe LaPointe chronicles the fall of the Penguins as an object lesson in what's wrong with the NHL.
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The Snes probably aren't going to bump someone else from the roster to bring back Ray, especially since they traded Petr Schastlivy for Todd Simpson last night. More toughness could be on the way but I'm not so sure Muckler will sacrifice a regular roster spot for it. The Sens want rugged players, not pure goons.
Posted by:
at February 5, 2004 12:02 PM
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