NHL 2006-7

Enforcer · October-2nd-2006, 02:52 PM

Time to start this bad boy. My first comment?

Daniel · October-2nd-2006, 03:51 PM

Enforcer · October-2nd-2006, 04:10 PM

Opening night, Daniel.

Slurpy · October-2nd-2006, 04:17 PM

This just in; the St Louis Blues have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

claude · October-3rd-2006, 12:42 PM

And the politics continue: Saskin sued by Chelios et al

Canuck Don · October-3rd-2006, 06:17 PM

NHL predictions in to-days paper . Kind of long but interesting .

.Crystal ball sees Sabres advancing to Cup final; canadian press sportswriters share nhl predictions

Chris Johnston / CP
Sports - Tuesday, October 03, 2006 @ 09:00

We asked some of CP's sportswriters to predict the 2006-07 NHL season. Short of consulting with Nostradamus and gazing into a crystal ball, here's a look at what may happen this year according to Bill Beacon, Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, Jim Morris, Donna Spencer, Neil Stevens, Gregory Strong and Chris Yzerman.

Calder Trophy (rookie of the year)

The majority of us believe the hype and think Evgeni Malkin is going to have a huge year in Pittsburgh despite missing the first few weeks of the season with a shoulder injury. The Russian looked great early in training camp and that was enough to convince most of us. As one writer put it: "He's a virtual lock. Looks like a young Jagr."

Also mentioned were Gilbert Brule in Columbus, Dustin Penner in Anaheim and Alexei Kaigorodov in Ottawa.

Conclusion: Malkin will get a lot of attention and could earn himself some rookie of the year votes on reputation alone. But don't overlook Penner's potential on a strong Anaheim team or Brule, who got a brief taste of the NHL last season.

Vezina Trophy (top goalie)

We successfully went with Kipper last year and we're calling him again - look to Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff to make it two Vezinas in a row. He's a workhorse who consistently has a low goals-against average and a lot of shutouts.

The panel also liked Martin Gerber in Ottawa, Tomas Vokoun in Nashville and Martin Brodeur in New Jersey.

Conclusion: It looks like Kiprusoff's to lose, although he'll get some competition from Brodeur, who always seems to be in contention. How many games will Rick DiPietro win in the first year of his 15-year contract?

Unlike many, we don't think DiPietro is going to be awful. Votes ranged from 20 wins to 31, with most expecting him to win 25 or more. That isn't bad on an Islanders team that looks to be among the weakest in the Eastern Conference.

Conclusion: The burden of signing such an eye-popping deal won't affect DiPietro's play as much some people think. While it may be a factor down the road, look for him to be one of the few bright spots on Long Island this year.

Which 40-year-old goalie is more likely to make it through the season healthy - Hasek or Belfour?

How about neither, at least according to us.

Most think Belfour's back will hold up in Florida longer than Hasek's groin will in Detroit, but the overall feeling is that both probably won't survive the season without spending time on injured reserve.

Conclusion: Look for Belfour to lead the games played category between the two, but that doesn't mean he'll spend a lot of time between the pipes for the Panthers.

Jack Adams Trophy (coach of the year)

Maybe Barry Trotz will finally get some recognition in Nashville. He's the only coach the franchise has ever had, which leads the majority of us to believe he'll be the one honoured after the Preds emerge as one of the league's best.

Also receiving votes were Randy Carlyle in Anaheim, Jacques Lemaire in Minnesota and Marc Crawford in Los Angeles.

Conclusion: A tough award to call, as it usually goes to the coach of a surprise team. We'll stick with Trotz but Lemaire or Crawford could also garner votes if the Wild and Kings surpass expectations. First coach fired

Eight votes, seven coaches. We'd hate to see any of them go, but our panel thinks a few guys are on the hot seat. Chicago's Trent Yawney received two votes while Ted Nolan of the Islanders, Dave Tippett in Dallas, John Tortorella in Tampa, Joel Quenneville in Colorado, Gerard Gallant in Columbus and Mike Kitchen in St. Louis were also named.

Conclusion: It's a fickle job and Kitchen might be the first to take the fall. With a new owner in St. Louis and several veteran free-agent signings in the off-season, Kitchen will be under pressure to get better results out of one of the league's bottom feeders.

Art Ross Trophy (most points)

Last year they battled to be top rookie, this year they'll each be after top scorer. Alexander Ovechkin got three votes here while Sidney Crosby was named twice. The general feeling is that these two are both bound to win the award eventually, so why not now?

Also receiving mention were defending champion Joe Thornton in San Jose, Jason Spezza in Ottawa and Jaromir Jagr of the Rangers.

Conclusion: Thornton will mount another challenge but it's going to be the year of the super sophomores. Expect Ovechkin to take the hardware because he's going to be the whole show in Washington.

Hart Trophy (MVP)

Even without leading the league in scoring, half of us believe that Thornton will be deemed the most valuable to his team for the second straight time. The Sharks look poised for a monster year and Big Joe is bound to be central to that success once again. "Bruins fans will be crying in their beers while watching Joe make it two in a row," said one writer.

Ovechkin in Washington, Jarome Iginla in Calgary, Scott Niedermayer in Anaheim and Jagr in New York also caught the eye of some panel members.

Conclusion: Thornton is the reigning champion and the man to beat, but Iginla has been close to winning it before and could finally get his name on the Hart with a standout performance for the Flames.

Norris Trophy (top defenceman)

Parity rules in the NHL and in our voting for this award. Perennial favourites Nik Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger each received two votes from our writers. One thought the Ducks duo of Pronger and Niedermayer could "probably share the Norris" while another liked Lidstrom because he's "still a rock on D."

Also receiving votes were Zdeno Chara in Boston and Sergei Zubov in Dallas.

Conclusion: It's a total toss-up but Lidstrom might take the award for a fifth time because teammates Pronger and Niedermayer could split votes.

Presidents' Trophy (regular-season champs)

We almost all agree on one thing - the NHL's best regular-season team will come from the Western Conference. Anaheim was picked by three writers, Calgary by two and San Jose by another. The only Eastern Conference teams receiving votes were Buffalo and the New York Rangers.

Conclusion: It's hard to find a weak spot on Anaheim's roster. Skill, speed, youth and experience - they have a little bit of everything. As one writer put it: "These Ducks will be mighty." And they'll win a lot of hockey games.

Who will finish last in the NHL?

The panel thinks it'll be a long season for fans in Chicago, Washington and Long Island. All three teams received multiple votes in this dubious category. The Colorado Avalanche were also included by one writer, who sees this team tumbling hard after making the playoffs in Denver for 10 straight seasons.

Conclusion: Even with the great Ovechkin and solid goaltending from Olaf Kolzig, it's going to be another tough year for the Caps. Outside of Richard Zednik, they didn't add any major pieces during the off-season and could spend time in the NHL's basement.

Stanley Cup final

Even with a string of recent longshot finalists, our panel pretty much stuck to the pre-season favourites. Six writers think Buffalo will represent the East against either San Jose or Anaheim. However, one also called for the first all-Canadian final since 1989 by picking Calgary and Ottawa to face one another. That would mean the first Canadian champion since Montreal in 1993.

Conclusion: Recent history suggests you best put the playoff teams on a dart board and pick whichever one you randomly hit. No one expected Edmonton or Carolina in the final last year. Ditto for Tampa Bay and Calgary in 2004, Anaheim in 2003, the Hurricanes in 2002 . . . and on and on.

Canada's top team

Finally, some clear consensus. The Calgary Flames will be the best team this side of the U.S. border, according to six of our writers. The addition of Alex Tanguay has many of us excited because we think he'll spark Iginla. The Ottawa Senators held this unofficial crown last year and received the other two selections.

Conclusion: It's a no-brainer. Calgary's the Canadian team entering this season with the least number of question marks.

Canada's worst team

We're split down the middle on whether Toronto or Vancouver will be the nation's worst. Perhaps it's a testament to the depth of the league that most of us think both of these teams will also challenge for a playoff spot. New Leafs coach Paul Maurice and first-year Canucks coach Alain Vigneault will each have their patience tested. Conclusion: Go with the Maple Leafs. Toronto goaltender Andrew Raycroft will steal fewer games than Roberto Luongo in Vancouver. The Canucks will earn more points as a result.

15:26ET 02-10-06

moneyp · October-4th-2006, 09:47 AM

Game on! Waffling tonight on seeing the "new-look" Sens or Buffalo-Carolina. Probably the latter.

Thrashers-Lightning are going tomorrow. Slurpy and I can debate which team's defense is worse. I say Atlanta's, but it's close. For the nightcap, it will be Flames-Oilers.

Ducks open with three games in four days. Thanks a lot, NHL schedulers.

Enforcer · October-4th-2006, 09:58 AM

So, Mone, how does it feel to have your team be the sexy pick to win the West?

Slurpy · October-4th-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moneyp

Game on! Waffling tonight on seeing the "new-look" Sens or Buffalo-Carolina. Probably the latter.

Thrashers-Lightning are going tomorrow. Slurpy and I can debate which team's defense is worse. I say Atlanta's, but it's close. For the nightcap, it will be Flames-Oilers.

If the Canes don't take all day to raise that there banner, I'm figuring on getting to watch a lot of both games. I may have to skip the banner raising tho...

Hey, Paul Ranger is back for the Thrashers game. So, we've got that going for our D, which is nice.

Enforcer · October-4th-2006, 09:11 PM

Canes-Sabres looking pretty good so far. Lots of penalties, but Cole and Staal look great. The PP goal Cole scored on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Ray Whitney on the point was pretty. Whitney faked a shot and put a gorgeous puck right on Cole's stick at the side of the net.

Enforcer · October-4th-2006, 09:57 PM

Great OT action! Cole playing as a defenseman and Teppo Numminen playing like he's 24 years old again. Teppo is joining the rush and puckhandling in front of the net.

moneyp · October-4th-2006, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

So, Mone, how does it feel to have your team be the sexy pick to win the West?

Meh. Not taking it too seriously. I think people are dazzled by the Niedermayer-Pronger possibilities, but two players don't make a team. I'm more optimistic about this team than I have been with any Ducks team, and I like our chances of making the playoffs, but aside from that...

moneyp · October-4th-2006, 11:26 PM

Despite Buffalo winning the shootout, I thought Carolina looked much better for most of the game. They were two steps ahead of Buffalo all night. Interesting to see that the Canes played all of their new guys on the same five-man units for much of the game, not that they looked out of place in the slightest.

Watching Colorado beating Dallas (unless the West just sucks, no way are the Stars making the playoffs) and they're interviewing Kono. He's always been one of my favorites. Just a damned shame.

patricia · October-4th-2006, 11:51 PM

What's this about the Penguins "going North"? After the second period of the Dallas game, mention was made of a sale of the team.
If someone mentioned this earlier, I will blush and go to the post.

Flames vs Oilers tomorrow. Yesss!!!

Watching Dallas vs Colorado. Just went from 2 - 0 for Colorado at the end of the second to tied at 2 right at the beginning of the third. Amazing!!

Lindross, as the commentator said, "turned the light on in the cave" this season and changed his wooden stick for a modern weapon. heh heh.

moneyp · October-5th-2006, 01:04 AM

There's talk about the Penguins being moved if a deal for a new arena can't be done in Pittsburgh. The populace is supportive for a new one being built to keep the team, but Pittsburgh has some real municipal problems (the city government is corrupt as can be). Lots of rumors flying around as to parties interested in buying and moving the team, but nothing solid.

In case you missed it, Lou Lamiorello got out of his cap fix, essentially trading Vladimir Malakhov's $3.5 million cap hit to the Sharks for a first round pick. Malakhov is suspended indefinitely for refusing assignment to the minors, so he won't be costing the Sharks any real money. The league also approved the Devils assigning Alexander Mogilny to the Long Term Injury list, meaning the Devils were allowed to replace his salary (which they did, signing Brian Gionta).

First, a sad way for AlMo to go out. Very underrated player throughout his career.

Second, how fucking convenient his injury was. I mean, the Devils had to get rid of his salary or else trade away a couple of good players like Madden or Brylin or else cut bait on Gionta. What this situation came down to was interpreting the CBA a specific way where it wasn't clear, and the league let Lamiorello (one of the CBA's architects) off the hook. Would every other GM have gotten the same benefit of the doubt? The Devils are also paying another Lamiorello mistake, Dan McGillis, $2.2 million to play in the minors. Dosn't these look like loopholes? Which teams can afford to eat and replace $5.7 million in salary? The rich teams. So much for the salary cap being an equalizer.

moneyp · October-5th-2006, 01:25 AM

Doing my hockey blog perusal. Tom Benjamin writes an interesting piece on why he thinks Jovanovski is one of the best players in the league. The discussion gets really good in the comments, though, when he talks about Bertuzzi:

I still think that the defining moment of this season for Bertuzzi was the second last game with San Jose, the one that the Canucks lost at home in OT. Thornton throws the puck to some nameless Shark as Bertuzzi just glides by him, not even making an effort. Guys on the bench in beer league would have been shaking their heads at the sheer laziness on display.

TB: I don't believe in defining moments, although this play is representative of Bertuzzi's game. It wasn't laziness. It was stupidity. Todd had to think to make the right play and whenever he has to think, bad things happen. He makes the same mistake in 2002-03. He's made those kinds of mistakes since he came into the league. Everybody ignored those mistakes when he was scoring 90 points and the team was winning.

Further down:

The results are all that matter

TB: I agree. You do realize that it wasn't always this way? Results are not the only thing that matter. Not in hockey, not in anything. This is particularly so when the results being examined are poor measures.
Results are always immediate and subject to so many variables it masks skill and determination. That is true in everything, I think. Skill and determination determine results over the long term, through good luck and bad, through periods when coworkers are good and coworkers are bad.
Life in the short run is luck. We only have an illusion of control over our immediate fates.
The difference between a 70 point season and a 90 point season is one fewer point every four games. That's dick. That's a nagging injury or an injured teammate or an extra 10 good saves and 10 missing whiffs by an opposing goalie. It's twenty poor calls. It's a normal range for an 80 point a game player. There may be a discernable reason for it or there may not be a discernable reason for it.
The guy who gets 90 points is elite and the same guy who gets 70 is flat out bad? I don't buy it.

Slurpy · October-5th-2006, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

Canes-Sabres looking pretty good so far. Lots of penalties, but Cole and Staal look great. The PP goal Cole scored on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Ray Whitney on the point was pretty. Whitney faked a shot and put a gorgeous puck right on Cole's stick at the side of the net.

That deflection/redirection was a thing of beauty, I have to admit (not being a Canes fan).

But Daniel Briere!!! Sweeeet....

Enforcer · October-5th-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patricia

Lindross, as the commentator said, "turned the light on in the cave" this season and changed his wooden stick for a modern weapon. heh heh.

I wonder if, after a few of those composite sticks snap on what would have been sure goals, he decides to go back into the cave.

Enforcer · October-5th-2006, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moneyp

In case you missed it, Lou Lamiorello got out of his cap fix, essentially trading Vladimir Malakhov's $3.5 million cap hit to the Sharks for a first round pick. Malakhov is suspended indefinitely for refusing assignment to the minors, so he won't be costing the Sharks any real money. The league also approved the Devils assigning Alexander Mogilny to the Long Term Injury list, meaning the Devils were allowed to replace his salary (which they did, signing Brian Gionta).

First, a sad way for AlMo to go out. Very underrated player throughout his career.

Second, how fucking convenient his injury was. I mean, the Devils had to get rid of his salary or else trade away a couple of good players like Madden or Brylin or else cut bait on Gionta. What this situation came down to was interpreting the CBA a specific way where it wasn't clear, and the league let Lamiorello (one of the CBA's architects) off the hook. Would every other GM have gotten the same benefit of the doubt? The Devils are also paying another Lamiorello mistake, Dan McGillis, $2.2 million to play in the minors. Dosn't these look like loopholes? Which teams can afford to eat and replace $5.7 million in salary? The rich teams. So much for the salary cap being an equalizer.

It is a sad ending for Mogilny, the first real Russian superstar in the NHL. Mogilny-Fedorov-Bure, baby. What a line!

The thing with Lamiorello is, he's always found ways to spend money without actually spending it. The Devils always operated like a small market team, even pre-cap. And you're right, I'd like to see Brian Burke get away with that. Lotsa luck. Gary Bettman was on OLN last night, talking about hockey like he understands it. What a doofus.

Enforcer · October-5th-2006, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moneyp

Doing my hockey blog perusal. Tom Benjamin writes an interesting piece on why he thinks Jovanovski is one of the best players in the league. The discussion gets really good in the comments, though, when he talks about Bertuzzi:

I still think that the defining moment of this season for Bertuzzi was the second last game with San Jose, the one that the Canucks lost at home in OT. Thornton throws the puck to some nameless Shark as Bertuzzi just glides by him, not even making an effort. Guys on the bench in beer league would have been shaking their heads at the sheer laziness on display.

TB: I don't believe in defining moments, although this play is representative of Bertuzzi's game. It wasn't laziness. It was stupidity. Todd had to think to make the right play and whenever he has to think, bad things happen. He makes the same mistake in 2002-03. He's made those kinds of mistakes since he came into the league. Everybody ignored those mistakes when he was scoring 90 points and the team was winning.

Further down:

The results are all that matter

TB: I agree. You do realize that it wasn't always this way? Results are not the only thing that matter. Not in hockey, not in anything. This is particularly so when the results being examined are poor measures.
Results are always immediate and subject to so many variables it masks skill and determination. That is true in everything, I think. Skill and determination determine results over the long term, through good luck and bad, through periods when coworkers are good and coworkers are bad.
Life in the short run is luck. We only have an illusion of control over our immediate fates.
The difference between a 70 point season and a 90 point season is one fewer point every four games. That's dick. That's a nagging injury or an injured teammate or an extra 10 good saves and 10 missing whiffs by an opposing goalie. It's twenty poor calls. It's a normal range for an 80 point a game player. There may be a discernable reason for it or there may not be a discernable reason for it.
The guy who gets 90 points is elite and the same guy who gets 70 is flat out bad? I don't buy it.

Bertuzzi being a dumb guy is something I've suspected for a long time. Honestly, the defining moment for me occurred in the 2002-3 season, when Bertuzzi complained to the media that Chris Chelios called him fat. Now, at first, I refused to believe that Bertuzzi was actually complaining about this. I figured he was being funny about it, since him and Cheli have a history and obviously have traded barbs on the ice over the years. Except I was wrong. Bertuzzi really DID let this remark get to him. Chelios actually got under his skin with that, which led to some other exchanges between the two that Bertuzzi aired through the media.

Anyway, combined with a whole mess of other little issues (not even getting into the Steve Moore thing), this was when I realized that Bertuzzi really was essentially a caveman type hockey player. Hitting hard and going to the net by using his physical gifts is the only thing he can do. And any team that can force him to think has gained an advantage on him.

The last part of that discussion is interesting, and it certainly has parallels in all sports.

patricia · October-5th-2006, 11:11 AM

Thanks for bringing me up to speed, Mone'.

I can't believe that Bertuzzi would worry about Chelios telling him that he's fat. I thought only we ladies worried about our butts blocking the sun.
Bertuzzi should worry about being booed when his body-checks are borderline questionable, after the incident. Fans' memories are long.

Enforcer · October-5th-2006, 12:55 PM

The average hockey preview poorly appraises the Red Wings. I don't necessarily disagree with where they rank the Red Wings, but I don't think many of them are citing good reasons for why they should be where they are. For one thing, too much emphasis is put on the lumped together "Shanahan and Yzerman are gone" thing. Yzerman, bless his heart, was not a crucial piece of the team's on-ice performance last year. Between the injuries and limited minutes, he really only became a big factor in the playoffs. Shanahan's goal scoring will be missed, that's not really something that can be argued with. But speaking of the playoffs, what did Shanahan do, exactly, last season? Or the one before it? Not much.

As for the goaltending, I'm as doubtful as the next guy that Hasek can stay healthy. But what if he does? He was pretty good last year before he got hurt. Seems to me that a huge amount of where this team will finish rests on his groin. He could take them from an above average team to one that nobody wants to face in the playoffs.

Slurpy · October-5th-2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

The average hockey preview poorly appraises the Red Wings. I don't necessarily disagree with where they rank the Red Wings, but I don't think many of them are citing good reasons for why they should be where they are. For one thing, too much emphasis is put on the lumped together "Shanahan and Yzerman are gone" thing. Yzerman, bless his heart, was not a crucial piece of the team's on-ice performance last year. Between the injuries and limited minutes, he really only became a big factor in the playoffs. Shanahan's goal scoring will be missed, that's not really something that can be argued with. But speaking of the playoffs, what did Shanahan do, exactly, last season? Or the one before it? Not much.

As for the goaltending, I'm as doubtful as the next guy that Hasek can stay healthy. But what if he does? He was pretty good last year before he got hurt. Seems to me that a huge amount of where this team will finish rests on his groin. He could take them from an above average team to one that nobody wants to face in the playoffs.

If Hasek can stay healthy, IMO the Wings could (should?) go deep into the playoffs. You guys have the A-Rod syndrome - the Wings' stats are always so good that when you dont win it all, you end up taking undue criticism. BWTFDIK?

Enforcer · October-5th-2006, 01:45 PM

That's true, Slurpy. But it's also a flaw in the construction of the team. They're misleadingly good in the regular season, but not especially well built for a playoff grind. Everyone thinks (Ken Holland included) that the 100 point seasons mean they're going about things in the right way. Until a bigger, tougher team exploits their one dimensional roster in a playoff series.

Enforcer · October-5th-2006, 10:50 PM

Red Wings just plain sucked. They looked almost indifferent out there. Babs will not be happy. Let's put this one behind us and see a better team on Saturday versus the Penguins.

Slurpy · October-6th-2006, 09:20 AM

Amazing. Marc Denis almost couldn't suit up for last night's game v Atlanta. His US work visa hadn't been finalized! WTF? The Bolts had to get the Dept of Homeland Security involved yesterday afternoon and we had to ship Nick Tarnasky to Springfield so we could bring up a backup goalie in case Denis couldn't play. Homeland Security? Where is Denis from, Montreal or Baghdad?? Unbelievable. Luckily for us it got resolved and Denis played.

Larry, I saw a little of the Wings game. I still wish Tortorella would make our power-play units watch your guys and learn how to move around to open areas, move the puck and actually make plays. I was cringing again last night watching the Bolts try to setup the power play and do something with it! It's like we feel all this added pressure and freeze out there, hoping someone makes a play. Frickken move, pass and shoot!

Enforcer · October-8th-2006, 09:59 AM

Well, it's funny you should mention my team's PP, Slurpy. Because they haven't scored a PP goal yet in two games despite a lot of opportunities.

Last night's win over Pittsburgh was similar to what I saw in the opener they lost to Vancouver: Not much offense. The Wings are forcing passes to players who are too well defended to receive them. It's just bad decision making by the man with the puck most of the time. The PK looked good last night, but the Penguins didn't do much with the puck all game. They were trapping down by a goal, which is really strange. As a result, they managed 13 shots on goal for the entire game.

The Wings look so lackluster with the puck right now that I'm not sure what to make of it. In a way, it may be a good omen. I heard Jason Williams talking between periods about the things the Wings would have to do to get opportunities to make "pretty plays" to score some goals. I'm hoping that they stop trying so hard to make those and instead make the basic, not so pretty ones that are essential to winning hockey games. Brad Norton's presence has been nice. He got into a good tilt with Andre Roy and the team generally competed physically, although Armstrong got off way to easy for a couple of bone-crunching hits on Zetterberg and Lidstrom. I want guys who do that shit to wind up balled up on the ice.

Hasek was fine but hardly tested. The Wings have too many guys who are familiar with one another to be this offensively challenged, but they're still trying to be too fancy and making one too many passes.

Mike Schwartz · October-8th-2006, 10:36 AM

Sharks open up with 2 wins at home against clubs they *should beat*...we all know how that goes when everyone who needs points scramble to get them at the end .

They send out a line with Greer & Nimenen on it and bodies begin to crash. That's nice to see. I'm sure they know, and will try to get another good defenseman. Nabokov gets the shutout last night.....Toskala got the 'W' in the opener.

They've scored well on the PP and haven't given one up.

Now it's a three game roadie against much better competition starting with Calgary.

moneyp · October-8th-2006, 11:28 AM

Aside from taking a lot of penalties, my Ducks are looking good so far. Our defense has been killer. The youngster, Shane O'Brien, has looked tremendous so far. Our kids are playing with a ton of confidence. Worries that Andy McDonald's season last year was a fluke are quickly diminishing. We've had to hang on to win both of our games, but I like the way we did it. Physical, hard play from start to finish.

Enforcer · October-8th-2006, 11:31 AM

It was strange seeing Joffrey Lupul in an Oilers uniform last night, Mone.