It's BACK! The 2005-2006 NHL Season

[Ksyrup]

Anyone see Garth Snow appear to blow both of his knees out tonight? Geez, that was ugly.

[Ksyrup]

Looks like Snow only sprained knee ligaments in both knees. Very lucky. Even with all that equipment on him it looked much worse than it was.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thrasher/Penguins tonight at the Phillips.

I'm almost afraid to jinx myself here, but it looks like I'm finally going to make it to a game we've got tickets to after missing the last two in a row.

[Draft Dodger]

Avs have won 3 straight and their next two opponents are Columbus and St Louis - the two worst (and lowest scoring) teams in the NHL.

but, more importantly, this Saturday is the big day: Hockey Day in Canada. 13 hours of hockey, including tons of local stories. It's great viewing for hockey fans...especially those like me who are fascinated about how hockey is a culture in Canada, as opposed to a sport in the US. Coverage starts at noon...Center Ice is carrying it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I just love the way the AP story paints this picture.

Ilya Kovalchuk showed he does not think too highly of rookie and fellow top overall draft pick Sidney Crosby in the first game of a home-and-home series between the Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Kovalchuk tries to help the Thrashers complete a sweep of the two games as the teams play at Mellon Arena.

The 22-year-old Russian taunted the 18-year-old phenom as he left the penalty box in the second period of Atlanta's 6-4 win Friday. Kovalchuk had just scored a power-play goal to give the Thrashers a 5-0 lead late in the second period and pointed at Crosby as part of his celebration.

"He took a stupid penalty," said Kovalchuk, who thwarted a Penguins comeback in the third period with an empty-net goal in the final minute to complete his second hat trick of the season and become the first to reach 30 goals this season.

"He's an 18-year-old kid and he's got to learn he can't play like this," Kovalchuk, the top overall pick in 2001 said of the No. 1 selection in 2005.

What the story doesn't bother to explain is what Kovy meant when he said that Crosby "can't play like this".

The penalty in question (that Crosby was in the box for) was a slashing call late in the 2nd period. Atlanta had done a shockingly good job of shutting the kid down most of the night to that point. They were very physical with him, always somebody keeping a body on him BUT very clean about it. That's what surprised me the most, nobody was doing stupid stuff to get penalties, they were just keeping someone in his personal space at all times, but literally playing it so safe that at times defenders would actually pull their hands back to make it clear that he wasn't being held/impeded/interfered with ... they were just generally annoying the crap out of him. And that's what brought on the penalty, which was about as stupid a rookie mistake as you'll see made out of frustration -- after yet another unproductive shift, Crosby snapped & slashed the hell out of Andy Sutton (one of several Thrashers who were rotating "spy duty" on Crosby) ... right in front of the goal and more importantly, with the ref two feet away looking straight at them. I mean he looked like somebody trying to kill a snake with a garden tool, just "whack", so obvious that the ref actually seemed to hesitate for a second in disbelief. I really don't think the kid is a bad guy, he just snapped out of utter frustration & made a classic mistake.

The Kovalchuk goal followed 24 seconds later, very much like a homerun following a beanball, and that's when the gesture was made to the penalty box (and brought a great reaction from the fans by doing so). It didn't seem so much like "that's for you asshole" as it did "welcome to the big leagues Rook, that's the way we do it up here"

But of course nothing that explains any of that made it into the wire service story. Just seemed like crappy writing to me since that was what they chose as the focus for the whole game recap, because the way it happened & the way it was written really don't seem in synch to me.

Naturally, I'm "True Blue", so I've got a take on this that isn't wholly unbiased, but apparently neither is the writer of tomorrow's game preview either.

edit to add: Okay, either my eyes are really bad or ... well, damn, I guess that's about the only answer I've got for it. Here's a quote from the local article about the same incident --"...Crosby sat for slashing Kovalchuk 24 seconds earlier."

I know Sutton was shadowing Crosby right before the slash (I had taken to watching them work on him instead of following the puck at all times by that point). All I can figure is that when I looked to the puck in the corner, Sutton had headed for it & Kovalchuk had picked up Crosby & I didn't realize it.

From the same article, in the interest of full disclosure or whatever, "The exchange appeared to have its roots in the first period, when Kovalchuk delivered a fierce hit along the boards to Crosby, who was in an awkward position and went down hard. Crosby said the play was a cross-check."

[Wolfpack]

Atlanta's playing some inspired hockey right now. They've turned a two-team race into a three-team race in the Southeast. That win Carolina had the other night after getting down 3-1 is looking better and better. Need every point we can get against other division foes because I expect Tampa and Atlanta to now make some serious pushes between now and the end of the year. We're a combined 3-4-1 against both teams right now, which means we're actually doing better outside the division rather than inside of it. We have an 8-4-1 division record because we swept the other five games we played against Washington and Florida.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The Kovalchuk goal followed 24 seconds later, very much like a homerun following a beanball, and that's when the gesture was made to the penalty box (and brought a great reaction from the fans by doing so). It didn't seem so much like "that's for you asshole" as it did "welcome to the big leagues Rook, that's the way we do it up here"

Please don't take this as defending Crosby, but based on Kovalchuk's history, I doubt it was the latter. Buddy of mine and I saw the replay of the events last night and had a chuckle because he has just commented that we hadn't seen Ilya act like a prick in a little while. Kovalchuk is still hated here for his actions against the Oilers (re: fight with Comrie and his goal celebration) which is saying something because Comrie isn't exactly all that popular around here anymore.

It's not like Kovalchuk has spent enough time in the league acting like a seasoned vet to deliver the sort of message you're describing. It's not like Kovalchuk hasn't done stuff like this before, and with him it always seems to be a case of vindictive one upmanship.

Personally, I don't like guys that do that, no matter what they've got backing it up, but I can see why people would cheer for the guy's talent. I choose not to, but the only message he was sending was pretty much, "I'm better than you", not something to teach Crosby anything about the way the game should be played in the NHL.

[sterlingice]

BTW, if anyone got in on the free Upper Deck hockey cards promotion before the season started, they look like they're shipping out. I remembered 4 of 8 weeks so I have Gonchar, Heatley, Khabibulin, and Zhamnov on their way.

SI

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

BTW, if anyone got in on the free Upper Deck hockey cards promotion before the season started, they look like they're shipping out. I remembered 4 of 8 weeks so I have Gonchar, Heatley, Khabibulin, and Zhamnov on their way.

SI

I think I only ended up getting Forsberg, but haven't seen anything yet.

[sterlingice]

I got email messages saying they're on their way. Haven't gotten them yet but I'm guessing I will this week.

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Travis

... but the only message he was sending was pretty much, "I'm better than you", not something to teach Crosby anything about the way the game should be played in the NHL.

And I certainly can't say that you aren't exactly right ... but somehow, sitting there watching the whole thing play out in person, it just didn't "feel" quite like that. And I say that right alongside acknowledging that I've seen him hotdog stuff on several occasions, so I'm not claiming he's above that or anything like that.

[Wolfpack]

Canes sweep back-to-back games against the Islanders with a 3-0 shutout tonight on Long Island. After the head-banging, profanity-laced fiasco I sat through earlier watching State lose to Carolina (again), it felt damn good to have the Canes beat up the Isles like they did. Carolina's now 12 points clear of Atlanta, which apparently has moved in front of Tampa Bay for second. (Am I imagining things or did a lot of teams do back-to-backs last night and tonight?)

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Canes sweep back-to-back games against the Islanders with a 3-0 shutout tonight on Long Island. After the head-banging, profanity-laced fiasco I sat through earlier watching State lose to Carolina (again), it felt damn good to have the Canes beat up the Isles like they did. Carolina's now 12 points clear of Atlanta, which apparently has moved in front of Tampa Bay for second. (Am I imagining things or did a lot of teams do back-to-backs last night and tonight?)

I think the schedule gets really bunched up from here on out b/c of the Olympics.

Why the NHL didn't spread things out evenly for the first half of the year, I have no idea.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And I certainly can't say that you aren't exactly right ... but somehow, sitting there watching the whole thing play out in person, it just didn't "feel" quite like that. And I say that right alongside acknowledging that I've seen him hotdog stuff on several occasions, so I'm not claiming he's above that or anything like that.

Don Cherry's take on this:

*shot of Kovalchuk pointing at Crosby in the penalty box*

"Somebody should've broke his arm, but they didn't."

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

... Atlanta, which apparently has moved in front of Tampa Bay for second. (Am I imagining things or did a lot of teams do back-to-backs last night and tonight?)

Yeah, but TB has a game in hand on the Thrashers (43 played vs ATL's 44), and the 'Canes actually have 3 in hand right now, so the lead is probably a little bigger than it appears

But we'll just take 'em one game at a time (I hope), including a 4-3 win tonight in Pittsburgh. BTW, in the wake of last night's activities, " Crosby didn't do much to help his reputation by taking four penalties Saturday - including a diving minor late in the second period that led to an unsportsmanlike conduct call when he gestured to referee Stephane Auger from the penalty box.

Meanwhile Kovalchuk answers the persistent booing of the Mellon Arena crowd with a pair of power-play goals ... including one courtesy of a Crosby hooking call

[Maple Leafs]

As much as Kovalchuk annoys me, having him play the bad guy in a rivalry with Crosby would sell some tickets.

[Logan]

Rangers picked up Petr Sykora from Anaheim for Max Kondratiev.

[NoSkillz]

Funny, but kinda scary story from a Montreal Canadiens practice earlier today:

hxxp://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=150086&hubname

Canadian Press
1/9/2006 4:33:49 PM

MONTREAL (CP) - Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore got a shock Monday when a stranger in full hockey equipment jumped on the ice during a Montreal practice and shot a puck at him.

The 28-year-old man from Montreal, who would only say his name was Raphael, went onto the Verdun Auditorium ice when most of the players were at the far end of the rink.

Wearing skates, full gear and a plain white hockey jersey, the man skated in on the star goalie with a stick and a puck. He was poke-checked on his first attempt and Theodore then stopped a weak wrist shot to the high glove side.

The practice crasher was chased to the side boards by coach Claude Julien but wouldn't get off the ice until he was pulled away by an arena worker.

Police later released the man.

"I didn't really know what was going on until the guy came on," a grinning Theodore said later. "He came at me with his head down so I just wanted to say `Welcome to the big boys.'

"I poke-checked him to say `You have to keep your head up.' When he came back, I though about going out of the net and not playing into his game, but then I thought he had the (courage) to go on the ice, so I let him have a free shot at me.

"He couldn't beat me. That's the main thing."

While waiting for the police to arrive, Raphael told reporters that while Theodore is a "great goalie," he didn't score because "I didn't have time."

Although most of what the recreational hockey player said was incoherent, he said he had planned crashing the practice to show the Canadiens what he could do on the ice.

"For many years I wanted to play high-calibre hockey," he said. "I had nothing to lose."

Police spokesman Olivier Lapointe said that although two officers spoke to the man, it was "not really a police matter" and he was not arrested.

With Julien ordering him off the ice, defenceman Craig Rivet stood close by in case there was trouble, but the man went off peacefully.

"It's funny now that everything is OK, but it's a little scary," said Rivet. "You don't know what intentions people have.

"You don't know if he was stable. It was a bit amusing, I guess, but hopefully it won't happen again."

The Habs practise at the suburban arena, where fans are allowed to watch the session, when the Bell Centre is unavailable - because of a Rolling Stones concert this time.

About 15 to 20 fans, mostly schoolkids, were on hand Monday at the practice arena.

The man had spent most of the practice sitting up in the seats in his hockey gear. Winger Alex Kovalev wondered if he was a player waiting to go on after the Canadiens practice until he moved down next to the boards, tightened his skate laces and jumped on the ice.

"He's one of those people, like whoever her name was (Morgana) who used to go out on the baseball field to kiss the players," Kovalev said. "He's probably one of those.

"And maybe he was wondering if we need a right-handed shot and tried to prove he can play on our team. You need one of those things to give us a laugh."

[sterlingice]

I would officially like to say that the Western Conference Central Division is godawful. Haven't been doing a lot of standing watching but I just looked today. Somehow, even carrying around a 10 game losing streak can't put the Hawks in the cellar. Even more impressive is that they aren't even in 4th, they're actually ahead of both Columbus and St Louis. Oof.

SI

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I would officially like to say that the Western Conference Central Division is godawful. Haven't been doing a lot of standing watching but I just looked today. Somehow, even carrying around a 10 game losing streak can't put the Hawks in the cellar. Even more impressive is that they aren't even in 4th, they're actually ahead of both Columbus and St Louis. Oof.

SI

I'm sure Nashville and Detroit aren't upset about sharing a division with the 3 worst teams in hockey. It was a nice time for Colorado to play these clowns - first Columbus on Saturday where a hot goalie kept the Blue Jackets in the game, and then last nights embarrassment where it looked like the Blues were just helping the Avs practice their offensive drills.

Eric Brewer cheapshots Dan Hinote early in the game right in front of the ref, killing a Blues powerplay. Avs score right away, camera cuts to Brewer waiting to get out of the box...but the official points to the scoreboard - it was still 4 on 4 hockey. ha ha. Avs score a real power play goal shortly after that with Brewer in the box, and he's in the box later when they get their 3rd. In a new twist, he's on the ice for the 4th goal, at which point, I think he'd probably just want to give up.

Marek Svatos got another hat trick and game winning goal (his 8th, I believe). Haven't popped over to the Avs board yet, but I bet I'll find plenty of posts from people wanting to have his baby or something, or spouting off nonesense about how they wouldn't trade him straight up for Crosby. yay.

Aebischer has 4 straight wins, allowing 4 goals in those 4 games. (Colorado has 5 straight).

and, heck, freaking Patrice Brisebois got in a fight last night. he even started the silly thing. I'm loving it.

[Draft Dodger]

speaking of divisions, the northwest division is the tightest in hockey - 4 teams over 50 points and all 5 teams have 20 wins, the only division that can say that right now.

[sterlingice]

Got my cards from Upper Deck today. Nothing too special but always cool to get free stuff

SI

[Draft Dodger]

my wife just called to tell me that Joe Thornton was ejected from the game tonight against the Bruins.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

my wife just called to tell me that Joe Thornton was ejected from the game tonight against the Bruins.

from AP

...Thornton got a major penalty and an automatic game misconduct from referee Chris Rooney for hitting Bruins defenseman Hal Gill from behind at 5:13 of the period. Gill and Thornton were teammates as Bruins rookies in 1997-98.

Gill fell to the ice, reached with his left hand toward his right shoulder and rolled over. He got up and went directly to Boston's locker room and didn't return. He said he suffered a pinched nerve in his left shoulder.

Thornton, skating behind Gill, actually hit him in his left side, driving Gills' right shoulder hard into the corner boards to the left of Boston's net. The crowd, which gave Thornton a loud ovation when he was introduced before the game, was subdued when Gill and Thornton left the ice.

[Hurst2112]

fun finish to the wings/hurricanes game. though detroit didn't win, it was cool to see a 6 on 4 at the end of the game. hurricanes did a great job in the last minute.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

my wife just called to tell me that Joe Thornton was ejected from the game tonight against the Bruins.

That's a good woman

Tho it begs the question "why weren't you at the game and she was"

SI

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

That's a good woman

Tho it begs the question "why weren't you at the game and she was"

SI

more like why is she at home right now watching TV while I'm here laboring at work over a hot internet connection.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

fun finish to the wings/hurricanes game. though detroit didn't win, it was cool to see a 6 on 4 at the end of the game. hurricanes did a great job in the last minute.

"You call this fun?! This look like Playland to you??"

A great, great win for Carolina, but I never realized how badly I wanted them to win until I found myself trying to get my emotions back under control afterwards (I guess it's similar to finding yourself in an accident and discovering you're okay). I wasn't jumping for joy or giddy or anything like that, just overwhelmingly relieved.

[Draft Dodger]

SEVEN in a row, baby. beating Philadelphia certainly helped take some of the sting away from the Pats loss last night.

[Lathum]

unreal

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...15naptime.html

I never knew this, so I got a kick out of the article.
It's about the tradition of NHL players taking afternoon naps. It's from the Atlanta paper, so it's Thrasher-centric, but from the way they talk about it I imagine it'd be pretty similar for most teams.

[sterlingice]

I'd never heard of that before. But, man, I'd fit in with hockey players. I can fall asleep in 5 minutes pretty much anywhere and I'm a big fan of the afternoon nap

SI

[Maple Leafs]

Did anyone see Ovechkin's goal today?

If he did that on purpose, it may be the greatest goal of all time. If not, it's still top 20.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Very good hockey day for me, although not NHL.

We took advantage of the holiday & joined about 6,500 others at a 12:30 afternoon start for the Gwinnett Gladiators & the Columbia Inferno in ECHL action.

Bonus time too, as Mike Dunham was in goal for Gwinnett (rehab assignment from Atlanta), allowed 2 goals in the first 4 minutes & then nothing afterwards en route to a 6-2 Gwinnett win.

I was pleasantly surprised by the level of play, at least by Gwinnett (Columbia looks like a team that may actually be worse than their last place record).

And an extra bonus as the merchandise rack happened to have a few pieces of game used equipment ... including a Adam Berkhoel stick that now sits proudly just a few feet away from my very thrilled son

[Pumpy Tudors]

I miss going to ECHL games. The Brass folded a few years ago, and now I'm stuck about halfway between Wheeling and Johnstown. Johnstown is closer, but the drive is hell. Wheeling is farther away and in West Virginia (urgh), but it's a much easier drive. :/ Yeah, I don't go to a lot of hockey games anymore.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I miss going to ECHL games. The Brass folded a few years ago, and now I'm stuck about halfway between Wheeling and Johnstown. Johnstown is closer, but the drive is hell. Wheeling is farther away and in West Virginia (urgh), but it's a much easier drive. :/ Yeah, I don't go to a lot of hockey games anymore.

I really don't think there's a better bang for the buck in pro sports than minor league hockey, as long as you're talking about a team that has enough talent (i.e. money) to be competitive in their league.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Did anyone see Ovechkin's goal today?

If he did that on purpose, it may be the greatest goal of all time. If not, it's still top 20.

I saw that on the highlights, what a ridiculous goal. I'm not sure its the GOAT, but it is certainly gonna be the top contender for goal of this season.

Tim Connolly had a really nice goal tonight too, not to the level of Ovechkins but it was pretty sweet nonetheless.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I really don't think there's a better bang for the buck in pro sports than minor league hockey, as long as you're talking about a team that has enough talent (i.e. money) to be competitive in their league.

I agree. Tickets are typically dirt cheap and the play isn't all that bad. The best "bang for the buck" I ever had (outside of freebies) was going to a prospect tournament the Wings and a couple other teams held up in Traverse City, MI. They still hold the camp, usually the week before training camp. The tournament is usually 6 or so teams comprised of each team's prospects, including undrafted free agents.

The tickets were $5 a day and there was usually 2-3 games a day. The rink was nothing more than your local ice rink. There were two sheets of ice in the complex and bleachers on one side of each.

The Wings' games were usually pretty well attended, but no one care too much about the other games. Me and a buddy of mine went up in 2000 and 2001. We hit every game. There were coaches, GMs, scouts all over the place and even some of the players' families who came to watch their kids play.

The two years I went they had prospects for the Wings, Blues, Thrashers, Predators, Blue Jackets, and Blackhawks playing. We saw, up close and personal, the likes of Kovalchuk, Heatly, Datsyuk, Jason Williams, Sean Avery, Darcy Hordichuk, and a bunch of other lesser known current NHLers out there. Great hockey. Very physical, always a couple of fights between tough guys trying to make a name for themselves. Some serious talent too.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I saw that on the highlights, what a ridiculous goal. I'm not sure its the GOAT, but it is certainly gonna be the top contender for goal of this season.

Tim Connolly had a really nice goal tonight too, not to the level of Ovechkins but it was pretty sweet nonetheless.

Was at the game tonight, and for as pretty as Connolly's goal was, it followed an absolute travesty of officiating which really made it hard to swallow. He and Afinogenov played lights out hockey tonight though, as did Hemsky even after the knee on knee hit.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I really don't think there's a better bang for the buck in pro sports than minor league hockey, as long as you're talking about a team that has enough talent (i.e. money) to be competitive in their league.

We've loved going to Manchester Monarch's games (AHL). We were 10-game season ticket holders for the first couple of years, but now with the kids and schedules and stuff (not to mention that the rink is an hour away) we're down to just a game or two.

It's good hockey, tickets are $10, and the worst seats are better than I'd be able to afford at the Boston Garden (and the $210 I paid for 2 9th row Bruins/Devils tickets for next month is about what we would pay for 2 10-game season tickets for the Monarchs).

it's also fun to see the former Monarchs playing for the Kings and elsewhere in the NHL.

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Travis

Was at the game tonight, and for as pretty as Connolly's goal was, it followed an absolute travesty of officiating which really made it hard to swallow. He and Afinogenov played lights out hockey tonight though, as did Hemsky even after the knee on knee hit.

I still can't believe Waddell couldn't find room on the US Olympic team for Connolly and ESPECIALLY Ryan Miller.

Dumb, DUMB move. He is by far the best US goalie in the world right now. Hopefully, they rectify the mistake by putting him on the taxi squad and inserting him for the injured Esche.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

I still can't believe Waddell couldn't find room on the US Olympic team for Connolly and ESPECIALLY Ryan Miller.

Dumb, DUMB move. He is by far the best US goalie in the world right now. Hopefully, they rectify the mistake by putting him on the taxi squad and inserting him for the injured Esche.

no argument from me there. I would have taken Miller over any of those 3.

[Karim]

For anyone who hasn't seen Ovechkin's goal:

Direct Link:
http://www.rh71.com/Projects/Ovechkin/vids/goal32.avi

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Karim

For anyone who hasn't seen Ovechkin's goal:

Direct Link:
http://www.rh71.com/Projects/Ovechkin/vids/goal32.avi

Actually, I do that move all the time.

Well, the first part. Right up until the part where he shoots the puck into the net. That part is new, but the rest he stole from me.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Karim

For anyone who hasn't seen Ovechkin's goal:

Direct Link:
http://www.rh71.com/Projects/Ovechkin/vids/goal32.avi

Heck of an effort, but the goalie was massively stupid on that play by my judgement. Ovechkin's all tied up and really has no shot and the goalie's diving on the ground anyway. If he'd have stayed up on his skates and backed to the goal and let his defender do the work, he'd have been in position to block the shot. It wasn't like the shot was a rocket. Still, something to watch a few times over just to hear the "oohs" and "aahs".

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Karim

For anyone who hasn't seen Ovechkin's goal:

Direct Link:
http://www.rh71.com/Projects/Ovechkin/vids/goal32.avi

Fantastic goal, but I'll still stick with Marek Malik's shootout goal as the best of the year.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Logan

Fantastic goal, but I'll still stick with Marek Malik's shootout goal as the best of the year.

Nah... I know plenty of guys who can do that move in a shootout situation. The fact that is was a goofy defenceman who pulled it off is worth bonus points (as is his hilarious, deadpan celebreation), but I've seen it before. I'd never seen anyone do what Ovechkin did.

[sterlingice]

I love the call of "We can't see this enough... well, we can because it's against the Phoenix Coyotes"

SI

[Wolfpack]

YES! Canes win 4-3 in a shootout in Philadelphia. Eight in a row and they now lead the Southeast by 16 points over Atlanta. It's not been an easy eight teams either. In addition to beating Philly tonight, they beat both Detroit and Nashville in back-to-back games last week.

Momentarily, they actually have the lead in the league standings, one point ahead of Ottawa.

[Draft Dodger]

hello, 1st place and 8 wins in a row for the Avalanche. it may be short-lived, but I'm enjoying it just the same. best part is Cody McCormick beating Belfour 5-hole. ha ha.