Biggest story of the week
Steven Stamkos was having a MVP-like start to the season. On Monday, he broke his leg in an unfortunate collision with the post. He’s going to be sidelined for at least a few months, and his
chances of playing in the Olympics aren’t looking good. Tampa Bay was playing lights-out
recently, and this is certainly going to really challenge them. Head Coach Jon Cooper is
confident that his team is still capable of playing decent hockey, even without Stamkos. They
won two of three this week and have been playing a great team game all season. The injury to
Stamkos may catch up with them at some point but they’re moving forward for now.
Goal of the week
Jamie Benn with a ridiculous goal against the Flames
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1VprhCXCFkQ
Save of the week
The Stars owned the highlights this week. Kari Lehtonen is making a habit of having the save of the week.
Top 5 Teams
1. St. Louis – Many predicted the Blues to be a strong team this year. They have points in 16 of
19 games. Alex Steen has been unbelievable.
2. Chicago – They picked up old friend Kris Versteeg this week in a deal with Florida.
3. San Jose – Ended a 5-game road trip Sunday. Got points in 4 of 5 games in breaking out of their slump.
4. Phoenix – Not enough respect is given to the Yotes. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a world class
defenseman.
5. Anaheim – Losers of three in a row, one of those a shootout loss, the Ducks are still playing
solid.
This marks the second week in a row that a team from the East isn’t in the top 5. Only one
team in the East, Tampa Bay, would qualify for the playoffs if they were in the West.
Biggest Meltdown
Mike Milbury was highly critical of the Buffalo Sabres decision to hire Pat Lafontaine and Ten
Nolan on NBCSN this week. He went as far as to call it a PR move, whatever that means.
Lafontaine didn’t get a day in the office, and Milbury was already questioning the legitimacy of his
hiring. He wasn’t easy on Nolan, either, alluding to him not being an “X’s and O’s” coach and
basically being an idiot who wouldn’t be able to handle today’s players. It’s understandable he
gave his opinion; that’s what he’s paid to do, but he seemed to have some disdain for Lafontaine,
Nolan, and the Sabres in general.
MVP
Tyler Seguin. He finished the week with 6 goals and 1 assist in 3 games. He had a 4-goal
performance against the Flames. Yes, it’s the Flames, but he’s having a real strong start to the
season.
Honorable Mentions
GM Darcy Regier and HC Ron Rolston were fired in Buffalo. No GM was hired yet, Ted Nolan
was brought in as mentioned above. Anaheim traded forwards Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz
to Toronto for D-man Jesse Blacker, a conditional third round pick, and a seventh round pick.
Ilya Bryzgalov was called up to the Oilers on Sunday. They also recalled defenseman Oscar
Klefbom. Blue Jackets forward Marian Gaborik will miss 3-4 weeks with a knee sprain. Jonathan
Quick will miss a month and possibly longer with a groin strain. Nazim Kadri was suspended 3
games for trying to kill everyone on the Minnesota Wild. Longtime Colorado Avalanche forward
Milan Hejduk is retiring. Sabres forward John Scott called Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf a
princess.
And if you haven’t seen this already, here’s a bizarre celebration from Norway.
