The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

December 19, 2011

The Hockey News - Dec-19-11

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011708/9559336-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="417" height="438"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>2011-12 LEADERS</b></h2><h3><b>BEST ROAD</b></h3><h4><b>PTS. PERCENTAGE</b></h4><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021308/9559378-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="114" height="60"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>BUFFALO</b>&nbsp;.777</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03934/9559371-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="114" height="60"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>SAN JOSE</b>&nbsp;.777</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04685/9559364-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="114" height="60"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>PHILADELPHIA</b>&nbsp;.722</p><h3><b>WORST ROAD</b></h3><h4><b>PTS. PERCENTAGE</b></h4><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-05480/9559357-1-eng-US/f0017-052.jpg" title="f0017-05" width="113" height="60"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>COLUMBUS</b>&nbsp;.167</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-06370/9559350-1-eng-US/f0017-062.jpg" title="f0017-06" width="113" height="60"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>NEW YORK</b>&nbsp;.167</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-07301/9559343-1-eng-US/f0017-072.jpg" title="f0017-07" width="113" height="60"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p><b>CAROLINA</b>&nbsp;.300</p><h3><b>NHL ROAD</b></h3><h4><b>SCORING LEADERS</b></h4><p><b>1. KRIS VERSTEEG</b></p><p>FLORIDA PANTHERS 16</p><p><b>2. DANIEL SEDIN</b></p><p>VANCOUVER CANUCKS 14</p><p><b>3. RYAN SMYTH</b></p><p>EDMONTON OILERS 14</p><h3><b>NHL ROAD</b></h3><h4><b>PIM LEADERS</b></h4><p><b>1. BRANDON DUBINSKY</b></p><p>NEW YORK RANGERS 41</p><p><b>&ndash; ZENON KONOPKA</b></p><p>OTTAWA SENATORS 41</p><p><b>3. ZACK RINALDO</b></p><p>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 34</p><h2><b>BEST ROAD</b></h2><h3><b>GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE & SAVE PERCENTAGE</b></h3><p><b>BRIAN ELLIOTT</b></p><p>ST. LOUIS BLUES</p><p><b>GAA</b></p><p><b>1.64</b></p><p><b>SV%</b></p><p><b>.944</b></p><p><i>*Stats as of Nov. 25</i></p><h2><b>ALL-TIME MARKS</b></h2><p><b>6 MOST GOALS IN A ROAD GAME</b></p><p>ROD BERENSON, ST. LOUIS, NOV. 7, 1968</p><p><b>7 MOST ASSISTS IN A ROAD GAME</b></p><p>BILLY TAYLOR, DETROIT, MARCH 6, 1947</p><p>WAYNE GRETZKY, EDMONTON (THREE TIMES)</p><p><b>8 MOST POINTS IN A ROAD GAME</b></p><p>PETER STASTNY, QUEBEC, FEB. 22, 1981</p><p>ANTON STASTNY, QUEBEC, FEB. 22, 1981</p><p><b>285 MOST ROAD WINS, CAREER</b></p><p>MARTIN BRODEUR</p><p><b>55 MOST ROAD SHUTOUTS, CAREER</b></p><p>MARTIN BRODEUR</p><p><b>MOST ROAD WINS</b></p><p>DETROIT RED WINGS (2005-06) 31</p><p><b>FEWEST ROAD WINS</b></p><p>WASHINGTON CAPITALS (1974-75)*</p><p>OTTAWA SENATORS (1992-93) 1</p><p><i>*80-plus games</i></p><p><b>MOST CONSECUTIVE ROAD WINS</b></p><p>DETROIT RED WINGS (2005-06) 12</p><p><b>LONGEST ROAD UNBEATEN STREAK</b></p><p>MONTREAL CANADIENS (1974-75) 23</p><p><b>MOST CONSECUTIVE ROAD LOSSES</b></p><p>OTTAWA SENATORS (1992-93) 38</p><p><b>MOST SHOOTOUT ROAD WINS</b></p><p>PHOENIX COYOTES (2009-10)</p><p>CALGARY FLAMES (2010-11) 8<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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IN THIS ISSUE

SUITCASE STATS

<div class="byline">PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MARTIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-012156/9558642-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Snow Job</b></h2><p><b>A miniature avalanche follows Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov as he tumbles to the blue ice.</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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THEBIGPICTURE

<div class="byline">BY LEESA CULP</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04669/9559060-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SOMBRE ANNIVERSARY</b></p><p><b>Four players were killed when the Broncos bus crashed during a winter storm in 1986.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(THN ARCHIVES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>On Dec. 30, 1986</b>, I was a passenger in a transport truck travelling east along the Trans-Canada highway during a nasty winter storm.</p><p>I was a college student heading back to Moose Jaw, Sask., after spending Christmas in Penticton, B.C. Just outside of Swift Current, a bus turned onto the highway in front of us. Within minutes, the bus began to swerve back and forth. It was clearly out of control. Within seconds, the bus skidded off the road and came to a crashing halt on its right side in a snowy ditch.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-012218/9559067-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="197" height="185"></div><p>The trucker called emergency services on his CB, then jumped out to help the passengers escape from the front of the bus. I got out as well, but I went around to the back of the bus. I found myself holding the hand of a dying boy who had landed in the ditch. Before emergency services arrived, I was called back to the transport truck by the driver who was in a hurry and wanted to continue on.</p><p>At 21, I had never experienced anything like the crash. I didn&rsquo;t know anything about the passengers or the victims, but I found myself scared, confused and deeply emotional. When I returned to Moose Jaw, I barely spoke of the accident.</p><p>It wasn&rsquo;t until January, 2007, that I thought about that day again. I read a headline about a similar accident that killed five boys near Meaford, Ont., and suddenly the memories of the Swift Current accident came flooding back.</p><p>I found myself driven to know more and quickly learned the crash involved a Western League team called the Swift Current Broncos and that four promising young players died that day: Chris Mantyka, Brent Ruff, Scott Kruger and Trent Kresse. The story made international headlines at the time. The more I read, the more I was fascinated with the Broncos story. Especially amazing was the fact only two seasons later, the once-shattered team won the Memorial Cup. I couldn&rsquo;t shake the feeling that I was to do more than just remember&hellip;that I was supposed to help tell this tragic Canadian story.</p><p>Since then, I have embarked on a new journey, one that has literally taken me back to the same spot on the highway.</p><p>I&rsquo;ve connected with many of the survivors and helped them reconnect. I even attended a 20th anniversary dinner celebrating the Broncos&rsquo; 1989 championship.</p><p>One of the 1986 Broncos was Bob Wilkie, who also felt a need to tell his story. To put the words on paper, we enlisted the help of Gregg Drinnan, a sportswriter for the Kamloops <i>Daily News</i> who had covered the accident and is still a leading authority on the WHL.</p><p>The three of us have combined our experiences with many of the survivors and the result is the upcoming book <i>Sudden Death, The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos</i>. It&rsquo;s been a privilege to help share the history of a team that so quickly was able to turn tragedy into triumph.</p><p><i>Leesa Culp lives with her family in the Niagara region and works for a chapter of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Of Tragedy & Triumph

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-012144/9558787-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="483" height="614"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>JOHN TAVARES</b> <span class="photo-credit">(TAVARES: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="image-inline"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-03905/9558794-1-eng-US/f0007-032.jpg" title="f0007-03" width="45" height="45"></span><p><b>No 71%</b></p><p>Yes 29%</p><p>Which city should the NHL go to next?</p><p><b>Quebec City 51%</b></p><p>Seattle 14%</p><p>Hamilton 11%</p><p>Toronto 9%</p><p>Hartford 6%</p><p>Kansas City 4%</p><p>Milwaukee 3%</p><p>Houston 2%</p><p><b>Vote on polls from everything top to bottom in the world of hockey at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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POLLRESULTS

<div class="byline">WITH JASON KAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-012184/9558687-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="907" height="580"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAMIE HODGSON/THN)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021855/9558680-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="178" height="227"></div><p><b>Maybe</b>&nbsp;<b>now that</b> Sidney Crosby has returned to the NHL, Alex Ovechkin will follow.</p><p>OK, two minutes to the editor in chief for a cheap shot, but Ovechkin&rsquo;s decrease in production, particularly this season, is at the very least curious. The man who has run neck-and-neck with Crosby to be the face of the NHL since entering the league in 2005 is no longer head-and-shoulders above the crowd.</p><p>Consider that up until the night Crosby was extricated from the Penguins lineup for close to a year (Jan. 5, 2011), Ovechkin had a 0.65 goals-per-game average and 1.31 points-per-game average in his five-plus seasons. In his next 56 games through mid-November this season, those numbers fell to 0.44 GPG and 1.02 PPG. Perhaps Yin needs Yang for motivation?</p><p>Whatever the case, the twin powers both get face time in this issue. Our cover story, beginning on pg. 20, sees senior writer Ken Campbell hanging with Ovie and the Caps on a three-game road trip, getting generous access and behind-the-scenes glimpses of what it&rsquo;s like to travel as an NHLer. Associate senior writer Ryan Kennedy, meantime, takes his own excursion &ndash; to Western Pennsylvania &ndash; to analyze what Crosby&rsquo;s comeback will mean to the mighty Pens (pg. 30).</p><p>On a broader level, the impact of The Kid&rsquo;s reappearance will be rippling. He touches TV ratings, attendance, merchandise sales and safety rules, to name a few areas. He might even provide the tipping point in what has long been a one-sided NHL power struggle: inter-conference dominance.</p><p>While Eastern teams have had decent success when it comes to winning championships, its clubs in recent regular seasons have come a distant second in a two-horse race. From 2001-02 to last year, the West had a better record in head-to-head combat each season, and in total the West had a .585 points percentage, while the East was at .513.</p><p>This season, it&rsquo;s a dead heat. And that&rsquo;s only because the Southeast is dragging its Eastern brethren down. The Northeast and Atlantic have an eye-popping .672 points percentage against the West. With emerging young stars and teams on the right-hand side of the continent, the NHL&rsquo;s balance of power is, finally, balanced. And that&rsquo;s before you throw in a comeback superstar. Or two.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031493/9558673-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="414" height="222"></div><p><b>NEXT ISSUE</b> JANUARY 2, 2012</p><p><b>CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TO SUBSCRIBE:</b> <a href="http://THN.com">thn.com</a></p><p><b>CONTACT US:</b> <a href="mailto:editorial@thehockeynews.com">editorial@thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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Switching To Eastern Time

<p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span> couldn&rsquo;t disagree more with Ken Campbell&rsquo;s assertion that watching &ldquo;the last couple of guys squirm in their seats&rdquo; during the All-Star Game draft constitutes &ldquo;drama&rdquo; (Overtime, Dec. 5). The money these elite athletes receive &ndash; which, Mr. Campbell fairly notes, Phil Kessel donated to charity &ndash; has nothing to do with the fact the draft is a juve-nile exercise that adds nothing to the event. Finding it &ldquo;interesting to see how guys who have excelled in everything athletic all their lives reacted&rdquo; just seems twisted to me. Get rid of it, NHL, please.</b></p><p><b><i>Glenn Reid, Mississauga, Ont.</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012411/9558756-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="986" height="1156"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PHIL KESSEL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KESSEL: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>Pipe Dreams</b></h2><p>Listing Roberto Luongo as the Panthers&rsquo; best player ever in The Best Of Everything In Hockey makes me wonder what&rsquo;s in your water. John Vanbiesbrouck did a lot more, by far, than Luongo ever did in Florida. &lsquo;Beezer&rsquo; helped put the team on the NHL map, took the Cats to the playoffs, unlike Luongo, and was instrumental in their run to the 1996 final. At best, I would have placed Luongo on the All-Time Second Team.</p><p><i>Jeff Main, St. Pierre-Jolys, Man.</i></p><p>Dominik Hasek best Buffalo Sabre ever? I cannot in any way accept THN not choosing Gilbert Perrault. Most games, goals, points&hellip;Perrault is such an obvious choice is unfat-homable you selected anyone else. Sorry, you missed the boat big time on this one.</p><p><i>Ken Alcock, Sioux Lookout, Ont.</i></p><h2><b>Hot Topic</b></h2><p>I want to see NHLers in the Olympics, but I despise the idea of the season being dragged into June and I understand owners&rsquo; concerns about injuries. So why not have hockey in the summer Olympics? The NBA season runs parallel to the NHL&rsquo;s, yet basketball is played in the summer Games. Why not?</p><p><i>Steve Dicker, Paradise, Nfld.</i></p><h2><b>&lsquo;Cros&rsquo; Celebre</b></h2><p>I was extremely disappointed when I saw Sidney Crosby as a nominee on the All-Star Game ballot. I thought the All-Star Game was for the best of the best for the current year, <i>not</i> for previous achievements. I know people want to see him play, but putting Crosby on is unfair to the NHLers who are currently playing at the top of their game.</p><p><i>Stacey Hartness, Live Oak, Texas</i></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021637/9558749-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="446" height="612"></div><h2><b>Music Critics</b></h2><p>Adam Proteau&rsquo;s &ldquo;Silence, Respect Are Golden&rdquo; (Proteau Type, Nov. 14) was right on target. NHL hockey has taken on the atmosphere of pro wrestling. I do not go to a game to have my hearing impaired, I go to watch hockey. Every stoppage now seems to require mindless noise. Are fans that easily bored?</p><p><i>Ray Smith, Costa Mesa, Calif.</i></p><p>Teams are businesses and although true hockey fans, such as myself, would love to see less sensory-overload and &ldquo;corporate drivel&rdquo; during breaks in play, it&rsquo;s done for good reason: Less-enthused hockey fans enjoy the hype. Leaving these fans without constant entertainment would result in fewer tickets sold.</p><p><i>Natalie Wawczak, Glen Ellyn, Ill.</i></p><h2><b>Love, Not Money</b></h2><p>After reading &ldquo;Making Sacrifies&rdquo; (Nov. 7), it&rsquo;s hard not to respect Erika Vanderveer&rsquo;s attitude towards hockey. There isn&rsquo;t a true &ldquo;pro hockey&rdquo; league for women, yet they continue play because of their love and passion for the game. These positive role models continue to champion the game and because of that we all move forward as a community. Thanks for the honest account.</p><p><i>Tamara Jong, Guelph, Ont.</i></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03967/9558742-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="108" height="108"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><h3><b>@thehockeynews:</b></h3><p><b>WHAT&rsquo;S YOUR ULTIMATE HOCKEY ROAD TRIP?</b></p><h3><b>@paulvechkin:</b></h3><p>If I win the lottery I&rsquo;m following the Edmonton Oilers on the road for all 41 away games. Going to see all 82 live.</p><p>#dreamtrip</p><h3><b>@cmanesh_:</b></h3><p>Did it in 2008. Followed the Blue Jackets to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal with a buddy from Kingston, Ont. Best. Road. Trip. Ever.</p><h3><b>@AllanPetrilli:</b></h3><p>Drove overnight to Pittsburgh to see the Habs beat the Penguins then drove back right after the game. Twenty hours of non-stop fun.</p><h3><b>@ryanday6:</b></h3><p>Anywhere where the wife doesn&rsquo;t want to go and I can consume all the beer I want without the &ldquo;do you really need another one?&rdquo;</p><p><b>Submit your letter at: <a href="http://THN.COM/LETTERS">thn.com/letters</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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DRAFT DODGING

<p><i>What&rsquo;s keeping you up at night, hockey fans?</i></p><p><i>If you&rsquo;ve got a question about the game, send it to columnist Adam Proteau at <a href="http://THN.COM/ASKADAM">THN.com/askadam</a></i></p><p><b>Hi Adam. Do you think a goalie will ever win the Hart Trophy again?</b></p><p><i>Brendan Antosh, Vancouver</i></p><p>Hi Brendan. Never say never, but look at Tim Thomas last season. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine a goalie posting better stats than Thomas&rsquo; 2.00 goals-against average and .938 save percentage, but he finished fifth in Hart voting &ndash; one spot behind Preds goalie Pekka Rinne, who I&rsquo;d say was less valuable to his team. In the 87-year history of the Hart, the award has gone to a goalie only seven times, the last of which was Jose Theo-dore in 2002. Fair or not, the Vezina Trophy has become the standard award for a goal-tender. Then again, Detroit&rsquo;s Justin Verlander just became the first pitcher to win an MVP award in Major League Baseball in 19 years, so&hellip;</p><p><b>Adam, I am curious why the Devils are still struggling offensively. Yes, they&rsquo;ve always been a more defense-minded team and, yes, top center Travis Zajac has been injured, but they have plenty of other stars.</b></p><p><i>Nathan Macanian, Old Westbury, N.Y.</i></p><p>Nathan, You nailed my answer in your second sentence. The organization has been defense-obsessed as long as Lou Lamoriello has been there. Each year people say &ldquo;this year the Devils are different&rdquo; and each year, they finish with low goals-against and goals-for numbers. Since the lockout, they&rsquo;ve never finished higher than 14th overall in goals-for, and never lower than ninth overall in goals-against. For better or worse, no team has been more on-message.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021455/9558825-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="856" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TIM THOMAS</b> <span class="photo-credit">(THOMAS: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Dear Adam, please settle an argument: Is Milwaukee a viable relocation city for a failing NHL franchise?</b></p><p><i>Dan Nicholls, Kingston, Ont.</i></p><p>Dan, In a word, no &ndash; at least, not until the league has explored a number of other cities and/or regions first. That includes Quebec City, Southern Ontario, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Seattle and Houston, all of which have been mentioned as potential relocation destinations. Milwaukee clearly is able to support its MLB team and NBA team, but that may be all the more reason to suspect it would be difficult to redirect fans&rsquo; disposable income. For now, it&rsquo;s more likely Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond wins the Art Ross than Milwaukee gets NHL hockey.</p><p>Read more <b>&lsquo;Ask Adam&rsquo;</b> every Friday at <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0007-02

ASK ADAM

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021752/9558870-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="800" height="868"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>VINNY PROSPAL</b> <span class="photo-credit">(PROSPAL: JAMIE SABAU/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="image-inline"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-05491/9558884-1-eng-US/f0008-052.jpg" title="f0008-05" width="45" height="45"></span><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>t happened</b> to Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mark Messier, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy. In fact, it&rsquo;s virtually inevitable. No matter how elite a player you are and how much you&rsquo;ve accomplished in your professional career, somewhere along the line you&rsquo;re almost certainly going to change teams.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-04697/9558877-1-eng-US/f0008-042.jpg" title="f0008-04" width="111" height="123"></div><p>And for the non-upper-crust, it&rsquo;s bound to happen more than once, even in the salary cap era. Former big-leaguer Mike Sillinger is the all-time record-holder, having donned the jerseys of 12 clubs. The current king of moving is Chicago Blackhawks rearguard Sean O&rsquo;Donnell. The 17-year veteran has played on eight teams &ndash; nine if you count the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted him 123rd overall in 1991 &ndash; and he sees a typical circle of life for the average NHLer.</p><p>&ldquo;Unless you&rsquo;re an elite or upper-echelon player, you spend a number of years in one or two places for the first 10 years, but if you want to keep playing, you&rsquo;re more of a niche player after that and you have to go where there&rsquo;s a good fit,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Donnell, who played for the Kings, Wild, Devils, Bruins, Coyotes, Ducks and Flyers before signing a one-year deal with the Blackhawks. &ldquo;A lot of times, a good fit is year-to-year, so if you want to play, you usually have to: (a) agree to a pay reduction; and (b) be willing to relocate.&rdquo;</p></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-031238/9558863-1-eng-US/f0008-032.jpg" title="f0008-03" width="1027" height="925"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>DON&rsquo;T GET TOO COMFY</b></p><p><b>Sean O&rsquo;Donnell has gotten used to being on the move in the latter part of his career.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(O&rsquo;DONNELL: JONATHAN DANIEL/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>How difficult is the adjustment? Adapting to a coach&rsquo;s new system isn&rsquo;t typically too challenging for today&rsquo;s savvy players. Thanks to the hard work of behind-the-scenes team employees, finding a home isn&rsquo;t a big problem, either. And for most young and single players, changing employers is a relative breeze. According to Columbus Blue Jacket Vinny Prospal, who has played on seven teams during his 15 NHL seasons, the real issues come when a player gets older and his family is affected by regular relocating. &ldquo;The worst part is when you have kids and have to change teams,&rdquo; said the 36-year-old left winger. &ldquo;Once they get into school years, it&rsquo;s hard for them to understand why you have to move, why they&rsquo;re losing their friends. Being a young player, it&rsquo;s not that bad &ndash; you just pack your bags and go somewhere else. But when you have a family, that&rsquo;s the hardest part.&rdquo;</p><p>Part of the problem for most NHLers is the ever-changing circumstances that determine how much security teams can offer to players. For example, when O&rsquo;Donnell was dealt to Anaheim in March of 2006, the Ducks had a great deal of cap space &ndash; and when they won the Stanley Cup the next season, it made sense to keep as much of the team together as possible. Unfortunately for the Ottawa native, the franchise also had to lock up star forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, leaving management no choice but to look for less-costly complementary players. As a result, a year after spraying champagne to celebrate a championship, O&rsquo;Donnell was traded to L.A. for his second stint as a King.</p><p>O&rsquo;Donnell came to terms with his lot in hockey life long ago and so he prefers to look on the bright side of wearing nearly one-third of the league&rsquo;s uniforms. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d all love to be Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic or anyone who plays in one place his entire career, but those guys are few and far between,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Donnell, who turned 40 in October. &ldquo;Sometimes it isn&rsquo;t fun to have to go to a new city and move your family around, but it keeps you fresh and sharp, especially as you get older. There&rsquo;s a whole new set of players, coaches and fans you want to prove yourself to. And it&rsquo;s kind of nice for us older guys. We&rsquo;ve played with so many people that are starting to get into management positions, so you get to know more people for life after hockey.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012301/9558856-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="355" height="279"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CROSBY: DAVE SANDFORD/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>94</b> Seconds of ice time (during his third shift of the game) needed by Sidney Crosby in order to score his first goal of the 2011-12 season in a 5-0 route of the Islanders.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0008-02

A Moving Story

<div class="byline">By Charlie Teljeur</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-012061/9558915-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="935" height="1511"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0009-01

The Instigator

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021438/9558946-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="294" height="345"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>BRUIN UP TROUBLE</b></h3><p class="dropcap"><b><i><span>M</span>ilan Lucic</i></b>&nbsp;<i>may be a controversial character lately, but he and the Bs posted a 10-game win streak in November, their best in three years.</i></p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>SERIOUS POWER OUTAGE IN TAMPA</b></h3><p><i>When people talk about the Bolts and their controversial 1-3-1 defense, it&rsquo;s more likely their record the past five games.</i></p><h2><b>+PLUS</b></h2><h3><b>GUSHING OUT CASH FOR SOVIET LEGENDS</b></h3><p><i>Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft will bail out the iconic CSKA (Red Army) squad, which was teetering in the KHL.</i></p><h2><b>&ndash;MINUS</b></h2><h3><b>THANKS FOR GIVING US NO GAMES</b></h3><p><i>Zero games on Thanksgiving Thursday? Is the NHL really that insecure about competing with turkey-eating Americans watching NFL football?</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0009-02

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-012272/9558984-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="429" height="531"></div><p><b>WITH THE 183RD PICK</b>&nbsp;<i>in the 1974 amateur draft, the Buffalo Sabres select&hellip;a man who doesn&rsquo;t exist.</i></p><p><i>And so the legend of Taro Tsujimoto was born. Buffalo GM Punch Imlach was</i>&nbsp;<i>bored to tears that fateful day in &rsquo;74 when the draft drifted into the sleepy 11th round. So bored, in fact, he decided to play an epic prank on the league.</i></p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-06402/9558977-1-eng-US/f0010-062.jpg" title="f0010-06" width="118" height="117"></div><p><i>After his secretary compiled a list of common Japanese names, Imlach selected Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas. A &ldquo;katana&rdquo; is a Japanese sword, much like a sabre, and should&rsquo;ve been a hint Imlach was pulling a fast one. Both the player and team did not exist.</i></p><p><i>For weeks, the hockey world believed Tsujimoto was on his way to America. Imlach repeatedly told reporters the prospect would &ldquo;arrive soon.&rdquo; Tsujimoto&rsquo;s name appeared in league records and media guides.</i></p><p><i>Only just before training camp did Imlach confess. Official NHL records no longer list anyone 183rd overall, skipping from picks 182 to 184 or listing &ldquo;invalid claim&rdquo; in that slot, but the legend is kept alive by Tsujimoto jerseys popping up at Buffalo&rsquo;s First Niagara Center every now and then.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0010-01

PUB Trivia

<div class="byline">&#x2013; EVAN BOUDREAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0010-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-031063/9559029-1-eng-US/f0010-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>METIS MENTOR</b></p><p><b>Honoring his bloodline, Theo Fleury promotes the successes of First Nations people.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(FLEURY: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>heo Fleury is still feeling the familiar warmth of the spotlight more than eight years after he last played a regular season game in the NHL. When you own a Stanley Cup ring (1989), have tasted Olympic gold (2002) and helped instigate the Punch-up in Piestany brawl with the Soviets at the 1987 world juniors, it&rsquo;s hard not to be the center of attention wherever you go.</p><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in front of cameras since I was about 16,&rdquo; Fleury said between photo shoots and commercial takes in Toronto in early November.</p><p>This time, however, it isn&rsquo;t about illuminating Fleury as much as it is Fleury highlighting the achievements of others. Fleury was in the Big Smoke to promote the 2012 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in February, which he&rsquo;ll co-host with actress Carmen Moore.</p><p>&ldquo;We get to honor 15 great First Nations people for their contributions to this crazy world we live in,&rdquo; said Fleury, who is part Metis. &ldquo;It is important we acknowledge success and show-case these people so that the aboriginal youth know they too can succeed and have a great life as well.&rdquo;</p><p>While Fleury stresses the importance of inspiring younger generations, there&rsquo;s no agerestricting clause in his community involvement call to action. At 43, Fleury practises what he preaches.</p><p>&ldquo;Over the last four or five years here, I&rsquo;ve done a lot of work with the First Nations youth right across Canada,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s basically all I do.&rdquo;</p><p>Through his organization, Fleury 14, the retired NHLer travels coast to coast each year holding hockey camps in various communities along the way. Boasting the motto &ldquo;Teach&hellip; Inspire&hellip;Educate&hellip;,&rdquo; the camp focuses on player development both on and off the ice.</p><p>When he&rsquo;s not igniting flames of determination in youths, Fleury motivates adults by sharing his story, which he calls &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t Quit Before the Miracle,&rdquo; as a corporate-event guest speaker.</p><p>&ldquo;I finally have peace and happiness in my life,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It makes me get up every morning and my feet hit the floor running looking for that next opportunity to help somebody who&rsquo;s less fortunate and down and out on their luck. I&rsquo;m just doing my part to help out in anyway I can.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-04737/9559022-1-eng-US/f0010-042.jpg" title="f0010-04" width="562" height="755"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KARLSSON: ANDRE RINGUETTE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>BIGNumber</b></h2><blockquote class="pullQuote">37 <b>Years since a defenseman won the NHL&rsquo;s assists crown in a full season. Erik Karlsson and Brian Campbell sat tied for second with 17 in late November. (Bobby Orr did it last with 89 in &rsquo;74-75.)</b></blockquote><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-05537/9559015-1-eng-US/f0010-052.jpg" title="f0010-05" width="642" height="766"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CAMPBELL: DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0010-03

Fleury’s Epilogue

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MATT LARKIN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021741/9559105-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="633" height="857"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>T&rsquo;S NOT THE</b>&nbsp;<b>NHL,</b> but American League teams aren&rsquo;t cheap. Even Worcester, which averages fewer than 4,000 fans per game, can dole out $7,500 just to see a man slam a puck onto the ice.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-031121/9559098-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="205" height="185"></div><p>In late November, the Sharks made a deal with neighboring New England Patriots tight end <b>ROB</b>&nbsp;<b>GRONKOWSKI</b>, who is terrorizing NFL defenders and scoring touchdowns at a torrid pace.</p><p>Finding the end zone 20 times in your first 26 pro games means lots of opportunities to celebrate. &lsquo;Gronk&rsquo; never misses a chance to do just that. His trademark move? A spike so emphatic coach Bill Belichick suggests he&rsquo;s &ldquo;drilling for oil.&rdquo; Fans love it, but the NFL doesn&rsquo;t. After Gronkowski&rsquo;s latest spike-filled performance, the league fined him $7,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct.</p><p>Enter the AHL&rsquo;s Sharks. They offered to pay Gronkowski&rsquo;s fine if he agreed to spike the ceremonial puck before Worcester&rsquo;s Feb. 24 tilt with the Providence Bruins. He happily obliged.</p><p>It&rsquo;s nice to see the Sharks, who sat last in the Atlantic Division, putting him to work. But if they&rsquo;re smart, they&rsquo;ll try parking the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder in front of the net on the power play.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0012-02

SHARK SPIKE

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RONNIE SHUKER</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-012191/9559143-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>NO BUS FUSS</b></p><p><b>Ryan Hamilton says technology has helped make long rides more bearable.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(HAMILTON: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>he differences</b> between the minors and the NHL are legion. There are the comparatively paltry paychecks, three-games-in-three-days weekends and, of course, lengthy bus rides.</p><p>Six-year American League pro Ryan Hamilton knows the road well. But for him buses aren&rsquo;t so bad, especially since as a veteran he gets two seats to himself. &ldquo;Travelling on buses has evolved,&rdquo; said Hamilton, captain of the Toronto Marlies. &ldquo;You got wireless Internet, iPads &ndash; everyone&rsquo;s got their technology &ndash; so you can go in relative comfort. Some of the rookies have to double up, so they&rsquo;re not too happy about that.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-04759/9559136-1-eng-US/f0014-042.jpg" title="f0014-04" width="151" height="151"></div><p>Now in his fourth season with the Marlies, Hamilton, 26, has endured long November road trips when the Royal Winter Fair takes over Toronto&rsquo;s Ricoh Coliseum. Last year, the Marlies went 6-1-3 on a 10-game swing. But a 3-6-0 record on this year&rsquo;s trek made it feel even longer. &ldquo;By the time the road trip was done, it felt like it started last year,&rdquo; Hamilton said. &ldquo;Near the end when you can see the road trip coming to a close, you get the itch to go back home. You just got to break it down and live day-by-day.&rdquo;</p><p>A period of respite was the three games played in the Lone Star State. Hamilton&rsquo;s wife is from Texas, so when the Marlies fly there, he gets some sunshine and good ol&rsquo; Southern hospitality while visiting family.</p><p>Road trips for those Texas clubs are another story. They head north into the frigid winters of Canada and the Northeastern U.S. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to get a little taste of winter on some of these road trips and see a bit of snow,&rdquo; said Bracken Kearns, a 30-year-old center with the San Antonio Rampage. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s tough getting ready for those places. You&rsquo;re basically leaving shorts and T-shirt weather for below-zero temperatures.&rdquo;</p><p>While the Marlies&rsquo; longest road trip is traditionally in November, the Rampage&rsquo;s is in February when the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo takes over AT&T Center. This season, their February peregrination is 11 games.</p><p>It sounds long and laborious, but for Kearns it&rsquo;s more mind over matter: &ldquo;Thinking about the road trip is gruelling. But once you get on the road and into hotels, it feels pretty normal and it&rsquo;s actually quite fun. We get treated quite well in the American Hockey League.&rdquo;</p><p>And like Hamilton, Kearns takes advantage of being a veteran. &ldquo;Rookies have to clean the bus,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I did that my first year, but I haven&rsquo;t done it since, so that&rsquo;s a nice little perk.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0014-01

Easy Riders

<p><b>&ndash; PREDATORS CHAIRMAN TOM CIGARRAN ON PENDING FREE AGENTS SHEA WEBER, RYAN SUTER AND PEKKA RINNE, AFTER INKING RINNE TO A SEVEN-YEAR DEAL.</b></p><p><b><i>The Hockey News had a cover article called &lsquo;Slashville&rsquo; talking about how we couldn&rsquo;t afford to sign these three players and I&rsquo;m looking forward to writing a little letter to them pointing out we did.</i></b></p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-031112/9559174-1-eng-US/f0014-032.jpg" title="f0014-03" width="178" height="243"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0014-03

HE SAID What!?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; MIKE WYMAN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021645/9559212-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="554" height="364"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(PALCHAK: &copy; CLUB DE HOCKEY CANADIEN)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>E</span>DDY PALCHAK</b> didn&rsquo;t figure he&rsquo;d last more than a couple years in the big time. He ended up spending 31 years behind an NHL bench as a trainer and equipment manager, seeing his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup 10 times. His Nov. 16 passing at age 71 severed yet another tie with hockey&rsquo;s glory days.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-05520/9559205-1-eng-US/f0014-052.jpg" title="f0014-05" width="144" height="98"></div><p>Joining the Canadiens as assistant trainer in the final Original Six season, Palchak served under a dozen coaches, from Toe Blake through Alain Vigneault, with his job title varying over the years. The Montreal native saw to the needs and accommodated the whims of almost 300 men who wore the bleu, blanc et rouge.</p><p>Among them was Chris Nilan, who recalled his initial encounter with Palchak &ndash; a humble employee ranking well above rookies in the pecking order. &ldquo;He gave me my No. 30 and said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s the shirt you&rsquo;re wearing tonight,&rsquo; &rdquo; Nilan said. &ldquo;I asked if I could have another number and he said, &lsquo;Nah, that&rsquo;s the one we give to call-ups.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>A man of few words, many not fit for publication, the stocky Palchak was more than able to take care of himself when it came to verbal jousting. &ldquo;Guys had fun with him. He was part of the team,&rdquo; Nilan said. &ldquo;Twenty guys could give him 60 different things to do for the next day and he&rsquo;d have them all done. He&rsquo;d never write anything down. You&rsquo;d ask him to stitch this and fix that, sharpen this and sharpen that. Get me this, get me that. He&rsquo;d never forget, you&rsquo;d never have to ask him twice.&rdquo;</p><p>An iconic figure in Canadiens history, Palchak had his status under-scored at the Centennial Game Dec. 4, 2009. The Molson Centre crowd rose and chanted &ldquo;Eddy, Eddy&rdquo; when, unannounced and wearing his trade-mark red satin team jacket, he dumped two buckets of pucks over the boards to start the game.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0014-02

CANADIENS ICON PASSES

<div class="byline">By Sal Barry &#x2013; webmaster of the hockey card site PuckJunk.com</div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span>inor league card sets</b> are known for their comprehensiveness. Usually, each and every player on the team gets their own card. But in 1988, the International League&rsquo;s Peoria Rivermen went overboard and included cards of their coach, trainer, GM, assistant GM, sales manager and their administrative assistant &ndash; a woman named Sheryl Reeves. While Reeves&rsquo; card did not feature any statistics on the back, it astutely states that she was in charge of &ldquo;holding together the administrative functions of the hockey team.&rdquo; One can only wonder if that included the proper disposal of old Peoria Prancers letterheads.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011961/9559243-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="545" height="762"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0016-01

IN THECards

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021503/9559274-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="235" height="274"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>ROBYN REGEHR</b></p><p>BUFFALO <b>SABRES</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(REGEHR: BILL WIPPERT/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><h2><b>BRAZIL</b></h2><p><i>Regehr was born in balmy Recife, Brazil, where his parents were missionaries before the family moved to frigid Rosthern, Sask.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-02

HE’S FROM Where?

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031097/9559305-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="796" height="605"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>M</span>AJOR LEAGUE</b> Baseball&rsquo;s new labor deal, which came without any showdowns or shutdowns, was orchestrated in part by Proskauer Rose LLC, the law firm representing the owners.</p><p>If that name sounds familiar, it should. Proskauer Rose now represents ownership groups in many big-league sports, including baseball, the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer. One of the firm&rsquo;s top attorneys, Bob Batterman, is the chief outside counsel for Gary Bettman & Co., as well as the NFL and MLS. So don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you each league isn&rsquo;t learning and adapting from the others. Proskauer Rose is ensuring they are.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0016-03

CBA WATCH

<div class="byline">WITH ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0018-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021377/9559409-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>LONG ROAD BACK</b></p><p><b>A concussion has shelved St. Louis&rsquo; David Perron for more than a year.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MARK BUCKNER/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011840/9559416-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="194" height="229"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>he NHL</b> has come a fair ways in handling head injuries. Years ago, it wasn&rsquo;t uncommon for concussed players to be essentially left in the wilderness, admonished to keep their heads up and criticized if they contemplated seeking second medical opinions. Now, thanks mostly to Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s 10-and-a-half-month struggle to play again, that simply isn&rsquo;t true anymore.</p><p>Today, the league and its teams exhibit endless patience &ndash; in particular with their top stars &ndash; until players are fully healed. The Blues waited more than a year for left winger David Perron to recover from a concussion, but he was progressing at his own pace and began practising with contact in late November. Toronto goalie James Reimer hadn&rsquo;t been out nearly as long, but all it took were concussion symptoms after an Oct. 22 game for Leafs management to shut him down completely for more than four weeks.</p><p>That&rsquo;s progress that should be praised, as should the steps the league and NHL Players&rsquo; Association have taken to improve overall player safety. But is it enough to address what has become the dominant problem facing the game right now? Does a step or two forward suffice when the issue at hand demands 15 or 20 running strides?</p><p>Yes, it&rsquo;s easy for teams to circle their wagons around players who they deem crucial to their Cup chances. But what about the well-being of players who aren&rsquo;t of ultimate importance to the franchise &ndash; the non-superstar forwards or sixth and seventh defensemen who aren&rsquo;t signed to long-term contracts, or for that matter, even one-way deals? Will these players get the same amount of time and care? More importantly, will they be protected from their own competitive juices, which could pressure them into playing through a head injury?</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;Players may not report concussion symptoms</b></blockquote><p>It&rsquo;s not as if there aren&rsquo;t examples of such behavior. Last Feb. 15, Leafs center Mikhail Grabovski got walloped in the head twice by Bruins behemoth Zdeno Chara, but stayed in the game and scored the winning goal. At the time, the Leafs denied Grabovski suffered a concussion, but in the player&rsquo;s broken English, he described his experience to a Toronto radio station thusly: &ldquo;I feel bruise in my eyes.&rdquo; In September, he told a Yahoo! Sports reporter &ldquo;I think I had a mild concussion.&rdquo;</p><p>Then there were the words of Capitals center Brooks Laich, who sounded awfully sour about the NHL&rsquo;s safety-improvement efforts. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sick of hearing all this talk about concussions,&rdquo; he said in October. &ldquo;Guys love to play, they love to compete, they want to be on the ice. How do you take that away from somebody?&rdquo;</p><p>Until very recently, that &ldquo;Monty Python Black Knight it&rsquo;s just a flesh wound&rdquo; mentality would be hailed as the high point of on-ice heroism. But when it comes to the brain, it represents the height of foolishness. It is not, as Laich said, about taking away a player&rsquo;s opportunity to play. It is about not letting a player&rsquo;s single-minded competitive drive whittle away his cognitive functions and ability to enjoy the fruits of his labor long after he retires.</p><p>The NHLPA is doing its part to stress the importance of reporting head injuries, sending two neurological specialists traveling with executive director Don Fehr on the annual 30-team fall tour for the first time this season. Bringing doctors in at the PA&rsquo;s expense to talk to players on each team for 15 minutes is about as far as the union can go. Indeed, if a player is truly intent on hiding a concussion, there&rsquo;s little anyone can do to stop him. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a definite concern,&rdquo; said Mathieu Schneider, the NHLPA&rsquo;s special assistant to Fehr, of the possibility players may not report concussion symptoms to protect their jobs. &ldquo;Our immediate goal is to give them enough information that they can make a decision on their own. We encourage them to err on the side of caution.&rdquo;</p><p>As we saw with Crosby, the wait was well worth it. Most players don&rsquo;t deserve his hype or stature in the sport, but they sure as hell deserve the chance to heal as he did.</p><p>WANT MORE PROTEAU?</p><p>READ HIS EXCLUSIVE WEB COLUMN THURSDAYS AT <b><a href="http://THN.COM/PROTEAU">THN.COM/PROTEAU</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0018-02

Safety Beyond The Stars

<div class="byline">On the road with Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011285/9559454-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="361" height="287"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011592/9559447-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="2404" height="3295"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>Travelling is a brutality. It forces you to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance.</i></b><br>&ndash; Cesare Pavese (1908-1950)</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>C</span>ESARE PAVESE</b> was an Italian literary giant who, in a bout of depression, took his own life at the age of 41 when he overdosed on sleeping pills. So we&rsquo;re assuming his perspective was a little bleak to start with. But as the Washington Capitals bus emerged from the bowels of the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on a cold November night, you couldn&rsquo;t help but think Pavese was onto something.</p><p>When the Capitals close this season with a game at Madison Square Garden April 7, they will have spent 56 nights on the road. It&rsquo;s hard to believe there will be a more depressing one than this particular evening. As the Capitals head into the darkness, the famous Winnipeg wind sweeps one of the first dustings of the year, with the blowing snow swirling around in front of the bus as it makes its way to the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. The cold, lonely streets of the Manitoba capital are no match for the team&rsquo;s mood. Hockey&rsquo;s code mandates nobody talks on the bus after a loss. It makes for a quiet, awkward ride, one that takes on an almost funereal tone after the team is spanked by the former Atlanta Thrashers.</p><p>The flight is delayed because the plane has to be de-iced. More silence. Nothing but the din of the engines for more than two hours as the team makes its way to Toronto. By the time the Caps arrive at their Toronto hotel at 3:17 a.m., you get the feeling nobody would talk even if they were in the mood to do so. The players quietly grab the keys waiting for them upon arrival and collapse into their beds.</p><p>Oh, the glamour of it all.</p><p>For five days in mid-November, your trusty correspondent was granted a virtual all-access pass to the inner workings of the Washington Capitals for a three-game road trip.</p><p>When you go on a journey like this with a team of the Capitals&rsquo; ilk, you do so with the expectation you might see three wins. Instead, you see three goals. Losing all three games and being outscored by a margin of 14-3 wasn&rsquo;t in the itinerary. The reality is every team in the NHL goes through bad patches, but there is extra baggage when it comes to one of the league&rsquo;s most glitzy teams. Suddenly, questioning everything from Alex Ovechkin&rsquo;s drive to his relationship with Bruce Boudreau becomes a national pastime. Every loss is more painful than it should be. And a team that started the trip challenging for the Eastern Conference lead finds itself in eighth place when it limps home. &ldquo;In every bad streak, you&rsquo;ve got to hit rock bottom at some point,&rdquo; says veteran Mike Knuble after the Capitals are drubbed 7-1 by an undermanned Toronto Maple Leafs team to end the trek. &ldquo;If this isn&rsquo;t rock bottom, I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s to come.&rdquo;</p><p>The thing you learn about road trips is every game is so important, and so trivial. Each night you play, it represents one of 82 games, which makes you wonder how important it can possibly be. But the NHL has more parity than ever and that loss in November could haunt you in April. It certainly spooks you in November. It&rsquo;s remarkable how much preparation &ndash; the video sessions, the meetings, the time management &ndash; goes into 60 minutes of hockey. And when it&rsquo;s over, either the euphoria of a win or the disappointment of a loss are as intense as they are fleeting. That&rsquo;s because the whole process and buildup for the next one begins the moment your head comes off the pillow the following morning.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0021-01

Rocky Road

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-021089/9559506-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="788" height="226"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011480/9559513-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="76" height="61"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>I have found there ain&rsquo;t no surer way to find out whether you like or hate people than to travel with them.</i></b><br>&ndash; Mark Twain (1835-1910)</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>I</span>N ESSENCE,</b> NHL players are just big kids living the dream, getting paid to play a game many would happily play for free. That is no more evident than the first day of a road trip. Free of the responsibilities of home life, the players are almost giddy in anticipation. In many ways, the first day is a lot like an out-of-town minor hockey tournament, where kids create as many memories playing mini-sticks in the hotel hallway and frolicking in the swimming pool as they do on the ice. The potential of the Caps taking six points gives the air a palpable feeling of optimism. The music in the dressing room is upbeat and loud and Ovechkin literally skips to his stall when Boudreau enters to discuss the power play. &ldquo;This is the power play meeting?&rdquo; says Jason Chimera. &ldquo;Oh, I&rsquo;ll just be out in the hallway, then.&rdquo;</p><p>That one gets a lot of laughs. Chimera is a 32-year-old fourth-liner who will make $1.9 million this year, roughly 20 percent of Ovechkin&rsquo;s take-home pay. He earns every one of those dollars through sheer sweat. Chimera is the type of player every team needs, one who willingly accepts his role on a team loaded with talent and a guy whose infectiously positive personality permeates the room.</p><p>On game day, the Capitals typically have four meetings. Two are held before the morning skate, where Boudreau goes over the power play, then has a general meeting with the team before it hits the ice. Then, about two hours before game time, assistant coach Dean Evason takes the players through the penalty-kill strategy before Boudreau addresses the team one last time.</p><p>Boudreau arrives at the skate early with assistant coaches Eva-son and Bob Woods (a dead ringer for an older Nuke Laloosh from Bull Durham), along with video coach Blaine Forsythe, who has already broken down the footage of that night&rsquo;s opponent, which the coaches will use in the meetings. Evason, a 47-year-old former NHLer who looks as though he could still play, rides the exercise bike while the four of them discuss strategy. Much of the Capitals&rsquo; game plan for this night focuses on minimizing the impact of Nashville Predators defenseman Shea Weber. &ldquo;If they win the draw, let&rsquo;s remember that winger has to go out to Weber right away,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t let him shoot whether it&rsquo;s a screen or not a screen, he has such a rocket. If he shoots the puck, he&rsquo;s dangerous to score at any point.&rdquo;</p><p>In private, Boudreau knows before he talks to his power play that the team misses defenseman Mike Green. Badly. Green is home rehabbing a groin injury and while he has his defensive warts, his presence on the power play is undeniable. Green has one of the best and most accurate wrist shots from the middle of the ice of any pointman in the league. The Capitals power play no longer revolves around Ovechkin, because everyone who has watched their video knows the big shot is coming either from the point or off the right wall. Boudreau points out that in the first seven games of the season, when Green was healthy and productive, the Capitals went 7-0-0 and their power play scored eight goals on 27 opportunities (29.6 percent). In the next eight, seven of which Green missed and one which he left in the first period, they were 3-4-1 and the power play went 4-for-30 (7.5 percent).</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03808/9559499-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="1414" height="1062"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>STALWART STALLS</b></p><p><b>Blueliner John Erskine and the Caps&rsquo; shutdown unit couldn&rsquo;t stop Nashville in the dying minutes.</b></p></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04597/9559492-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="1032" height="555"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: JOHN RUSSELL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo; OUR TEAM ISN&rsquo;T ONLY ONE PLAYER&rdquo;</b><br><b>&ndash; BRUCE BOUDREAU</b></blockquote><p>As Boudreau makes his way around a mass of bodies strewn all over the dressing room floor, he tells his team he can&rsquo;t believe one guy could make that much difference to a team as talented as the Capitals. There is clearly some coach psychology at work here, since Boudreau is trying his best to kick the crutches out from underneath the armpits of the guys on the power play.</p><p>When reminded he was lamenting Green&rsquo;s loss before the meeting, Boudreau says later, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to tell them that. I&rsquo;m going to challenge them by telling them it&rsquo;s not one player. Same as when Alex is out of the lineup. Our whole team isn&rsquo;t Alex.&rdquo; Knuble, a veteran of 983 morning skates with five teams, knows the game Boudreau is playing. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re floundering a little,&rdquo; Knuble says. &ldquo;He wants to set little traps. What they say in (the coach&rsquo;s room) is much different than what they say out here. You don&rsquo;t even want to know what they&rsquo;re saying about you in there.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011423/9559485-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="1573" height="1035"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>STUDENTS OF THE GAME</b></p><p><b>A busy travel schedule didn&rsquo;t hinder the Caps&rsquo; study sessions, which addressed the power play, penalty kill and more.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(KEN CAMPBELL/THN)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;SUCCEEDING IN A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT TONIGHT WILL SET A TONE THROUGH THE NEXT FIVE GAMES&rdquo;</b><br><b>&ndash; BRUCE BOUDREAU</b></blockquote><p>Game-day skates are usually optional for the Caps, but since they went straight to the airport the day before without practising, attendance is compulsory today. Coaches will tell you they can get a feel for how their team will play that night by how they approach the morning skate, so Boudreau wants to set a positive tone right away. <i>Have purpose to your 2-on-1s and 3-on-1s, work the goalie, don&rsquo;t make &ldquo;19 passes and just (expletive) around,&rdquo; work with a purpose.</i> Boudreau knows the Preds are a well-coached, disciplined defensive team that is particularly tough in its own rink. He builds it up to be the most important game of the season &ndash; because it is. The one you&rsquo;re about to play always is. &ldquo;If we come through in a tough environment and we succeed tonight, it&rsquo;ll set a tone that can go through (the next) five games,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;And I&rsquo;m telling you this is the game that&rsquo;s going to count because this is a tough (expletive) opponent. Let&rsquo;s get our mindset ready for this game because I know if we win this one, we&rsquo;re gonna go.&rdquo;</p><p>At the team lunch after the skate, while the players are focused on their contest against the Predators, the main topic of conversation is the next game in Winnipeg and the weather. The days of players growing up and honing their skills on the backyard rink are over. They have been for years. Even players raised in northern climates play the vast majority of their hockey indoors. One thing is certain: living in Washington, where they close schools on the threat of a snow dusting, these guys have become spooked by cold and snow.</p><p>Maryland-born veteran Jeff Halpern is sitting across from rookie Cody Eakin, who grew up in Winnipeg, and asks him why it&rsquo;s so cold there. Eakin, who gives him a who-do-I-look-like-the-weather-man look, says, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo; It actually has something to do with being on the flat prairies with little to isolate it from the cold fronts that come down from the Arctic. But hey, it&rsquo;s a dry cold. If the players ever ventured out of their rooms, they&rsquo;d have to worry more about getting killed than getting frostbite, since Winnipeg has had the ignominious status of Murder Capital of Canada the past few years.</p><p>The first bus to the game leaves the hotel at 4:00 p.m. and the second 45 minutes later. The room is loose and as players work on their sticks (incessantly) and equipment, the atmosphere is confident.</p><p>When Boudreau addresses his players for the final time 90 minutes before puck drop, he wants to hammer home his message of relentless play in all areas of the ice. He tells them if they have 30 hits and block 20 shots, nobody can beat them. He implores them to win faceoffs, take the body, allow two or fewer goals and not turn the puck over in the neutral zone. Most of all, he wants the Capitals to shed their reputation as a team that relies more on skill than effort. &ldquo;We should take pride in out-working a team whose reputation is they don&rsquo;t get outworked,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve lived for 13 years on, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re a small-market team, we don&rsquo;t get outworked, we outwork everybody.&rsquo; Let&rsquo;s outwork these guys tonight. Let&rsquo;s win those (expletive) battles everywhere on the ice. Let&rsquo;s show them they&rsquo;re not the only (expletive) team that works. <i>We</i> work.&rdquo;</p><p>Everything goes brilliantly for 55 minutes. As the teams battle without scoring a goal, the Capitals pepper the Predators with shots and only goalie Pekka Rinne&rsquo;s brilliance keeps Washington from being ahead.</p><p>Troy Brouwer finally pierces Rinne&rsquo;s armor with a goal at 15:14 of the third period, but a huge breakdown lets Weber join the play and set up the tying goal just 28 seconds later. The Capitals then have the Predators pinned in their own zone, pressing for the go-ahead goal, until a harmless-looking dump-out, combined with John Erskine losing his stick, leads to a Colin Wilson tally. An empty-netter makes it 3-1 and suddenly, it&rsquo;s become a four-point trip. The power play remains limp, even failing to score on a two-man advantage when Weber and Ryan Suter, Nashville&rsquo;s two best penalty killing defensemen, are in the box.</p><p>The $500 put up by former Predator Tomas Vokoun for the victory stays in his pocket, as will the $800 former Predator Joel Ward posted for the win and the $200 for the winning goal. Boudreau will say before practice the next day that, unlike last year when the Caps wallowed in self pity during a slump for all the world to see on HBO&rsquo;s <i>24/7</i> series, they won&rsquo;t repeat that mistake now. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to feel sorry for ourselves for having a good game and pissing it away,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;And we pissed it away, make no bones about it. We pissed it away. We played (expletive) great and we pissed it away and I don&rsquo;t want to get going on those last few minutes where I put out the best (expletive) guys we have defensively and we (expletived) it up royally.&rdquo;</p><p>Boudreau refuses to dwell completely on the negatives, saying all they have to do is fix five minutes of hockey and play a complete game. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s going to come from the guys in this room, not us,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to come from individuals in this room who say, &lsquo;(Expletive) it, damn it, it&rsquo;s not going to happen anymore.&rsquo; &rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0022-02

NASHVILLE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011258/9559572-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-021022/9559579-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="76" height="61"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>There are only two emotions on a plane &ndash; boredom and terror.</i></b><br>&ndash; Orson Welles (1915-1985)</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>O</span>RSON</b>&nbsp;<b>WELLES</b> forgot trepidation. Perhaps he never flew into Winnipeg. By the time the charter flight touches down in the early evening, the majority of those on board, none of whom was in the league the last time the Jets played in the NHL, are convinced they&rsquo;re entering the frozen abyss. There are a lot of &ldquo;welcome to the armpit of Canada&rdquo; comments as the players file off the bus, which proves they haven&rsquo;t visited many other Canadian cities.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02887/9559565-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="1032" height="926"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THRASHED BY THE JETS</b></p><p><b>The Capitals&rsquo; trip went from bad to worse when division rival Winnipeg pounded them 4-1 in Ovie&rsquo;s first visit to Manitoba.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011436/9559558-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="1019" height="1350"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>TRIAL BY FIRE</b></p><p><b>Life on the road can be especially tough for rookies like Cody Eakin. Coach Bruce Boudreau used strong words to motivate him.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(EAKIN: GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-021031/9559551-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="627" height="466"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BOUDREAU: KEN CAMPBELL/THN)</span></figcaption></div><p>Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov disparaged Winnipeg last season and, unfortunately, that&rsquo;s the impression a lot of people have of the place. When teams are on a trip, they almost always fly out right after the game to the next city, even when there is a day off between games. But the Capitals stayed in Nashville after their game, practised the next morning and flew out to Winnipeg, just like the Florida Panthers did during the Toronto-Winnipeg leg of a trip. The Tampa Bay Lightning, though, opted to fly out of St. Louis after their game in November and spend their day off in Winnipeg. They also stayed in Winnipeg after their game and flew out the next day.</p><p>Such stereotypes are almost always inaccurate. The fact is Winnipeg is a charming city with great restaurants and a vibrant nightlife and there are certainly worse locales on the NHL map. But it is cold and that surprisingly makes guys who play a winter sport want to stay away.</p><p>By the time the players have arrived for Thursday&rsquo;s morning skate, Boudreau has watched his team&rsquo;s agonizing collapses more times than he cares to remember. He continues to marvel at the fact he had who he thought were his most reliable defensive players &ndash; Erskine and Wideman on defense and Brooks Laich, Ward and Chimera up front &ndash; on the ice when things went awry.</p><p>One player who has escaped the wrath is Eakin, a rookie who has been in and out of the lineup. Eakin was a star in the Western League and Canada&rsquo;s world junior team, but is having trouble finding his way in his first NHL season. There is so much for him to remember that he sometimes forgets to keep skating. At one point with the play in the neutral zone and Eakin standing still, Boudreau bellowed at the top of his lungs, &ldquo;Move your (expletive) feet!&rdquo; Boudreau explains that after three days of yelling at Eakin, the message is getting through.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03811/9559544-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="1032" height="716"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>MANITOBA MELTDOWN</b></p><p><b>Jeff Halpern was perplexed by the Winnipeg weather. The Caps were puzzled by their play in the &rsquo;Peg.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(HALPERN: MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>&ldquo;These dumb hockey players, right?&rdquo; says Evason from his traditional perch on the seat of the exercise bike. &ldquo;Lucky we&rsquo;re coaches now and we&rsquo;re so smart.&rdquo;</p><p>&ldquo;Yeah, us and our Grade 10 education,&rdquo; Boudreau says, before pointing out he actually completed his Grade 12 diploma. &ldquo;It took me until I was 23, but I got it.&rdquo;</p><p>The cold weather alone makes Winnipeg feel like a hockey town. The atmosphere is even more charged by the emotional fans. In this city, every game still has a circus-like feel. And this is the first visit by Ovechkin, who can&rsquo;t escape the scrutiny any-where he goes in Canada. The autograph seekers, all adults, flock to him outside the hotel as soon as he gets off the bus.</p><p>The whispers about Ovechkin&rsquo;s game are beginning to get much louder now. Observers look at his stats and his overall play and wonder what has happened. Many think he has become too predictable and easy to defend. Others speculate there is a rift between him and Boudreau. But everywhere he goes, he amazes teammates with his ability to stay upbeat in the dressing room rather than bring his teammates down. Boudreau has noticed that for a guy who celebrates goals with such gusto, Ovechkin is the kind of person who internalizes his issues when things are going badly. In any event, Jets coach Claude Noel is keenly aware Ovechkin thrives on the buzz that surrounds a big game. &ldquo;And you&rsquo;re trying to scare me with that?&rdquo; Noel says when the notion is put to him after the morning skate. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know that there&rsquo;s any recipe for taking away his enthusiasm aside from getting on the rosary and making phone calls to the big guy upstairs. I just hope he doesn&rsquo;t get too charged up with the enthusiasm around here. We don&rsquo;t need to feed that.&rdquo;</p><p>No problem there. Ovechkin is as uninspired and uninterested as his teammates in a 4-1 loss to a division rival. About the only time anyone shows any intensity is after the game when Alexander Semin takes a two-handed chop at the cement wall leading to the dressing room, snapping his stick like a dry twig. Another long, silent trip to the center of the hockey universe awaits.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0025-01

WINNIPEG

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011415/9559631-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08262/9559638-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="76" height="61"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b><i>A journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.</i></b><br>&ndash; John Steinbeck (1902-1968)</blockquote><p class="dropcap"><b><span>T</span>HINGS</b>&nbsp;<b>ARE</b> spiralling out of control. Despite the Capitals&rsquo; best efforts to analyze every detail, there are breakdowns everywhere on the ice. After years of being branded as a one-trick offensive pony, they are trying to build an identity as a good defensive team with great scoring talent. But they&rsquo;re struggling at both ends of the ice and the questions surrounding Ovechkin are reaching a crescendo. Boudreau is at his wits&rsquo; end, so he orders the Capitals to stay off the ice and, even though they&rsquo;re in Toronto, devote the day to resting their weary bodies and minds. He speaks to his players for a total of two minutes and 11 seconds. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to talk anymore. You guys have to figure it out,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;Every game there&rsquo;s two or three or five minutes where we (expletive) just go brain-dead. We&rsquo;ve got to figure this out before it starts to really snowball into something we can&rsquo;t control. And that&rsquo;s all you&rsquo;re going to hear from me today.&rdquo;</p><p>As Boudreau walks out, the players look at one another and know what to do. The ubiquitous players-only, closed-door meeting is in order. As Knuble starts to talk, he looks up and says, &ldquo;Ken, can you go out in the hallway, please?&rdquo;</p><p>Reporter: &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather stay.&rdquo;</p><p>Knuble: &ldquo;No, you have to go.&rdquo;</p><p>Ovechkin: &ldquo;Nice try, though.&rdquo;</p><p>A morning skate on a Saturday in Toronto is always an event. Hours before you can smell the old Toronto money permeating the ice level during games, you can feel the hockey vibe. The stands are full of children who are there to see the Capitals star-studded lineup and follow Ovechkin&rsquo;s every move. Once again, all the Capitals are on the ice, including Boudreau and the coaches, and the skate is fast-paced and upbeat. Even Ovechkin, who has been beaten down and questioned by skeptics for the past three days, feels a difference in the air. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with me,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Tonight I&rsquo;ll score two goals and we&rsquo;ll win and everyone is happy.&rdquo;</p><p>One Capital who is already happy is Ward, a Toronto native who never stopped dreaming of one day playing in Toronto on <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i>. To say Ward took the circuitous route to the NHL would be an understatement. He worked his way through the minors after playing four years at the University of Prince Edward Island, but not being drafted or recognized as a player was the least of his hardships. When Ward was 14 and playing in Toronto, his father Randall suffered a stroke during a game and died in hospital two days later of a blood clot in his brain, leaving his mother Cecilia to raise three boys on her own. &ldquo;It was tough knowing that he was just gone,&rdquo; Ward says. &ldquo;He was the guy who dragged me out to the rink when I didn&rsquo;t want to go&hellip;then he was just gone. Your dad is everything to you and you feel like your world has come crashing down. But my escape was to put on the pads.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03746/9559624-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="686" height="500"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME. TONIGHT I&rsquo;LL SCORE TWO GOALS AND WE&rsquo;LL WIN&rdquo;</b><br><b>&ndash; ALEX OVECHKIN</b></blockquote><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02997/9559617-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1032" height="1384"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>HOGTOWN FOG</b></p><p><b>Winnipeg wasn&rsquo;t rock bottom. Closing the trip with a 7-1 loss at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto was.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GRAIG ABEL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Just before he speaks to his team, Boudreau rubs his chin and wonders how to pull his team out of its funk. It&rsquo;s not for a lack of attention. In fact, his son Andrew plays for Brock University in St. Catharines, which is a 90-minute drive from Toronto, and despite the fact Boudreau had a free night, he never even thought to make the trip until he was having dinner with assistant coach Bob Woods. &ldquo;This job is so all-consuming that I forget things,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;My wife always has to remind me of anniversaries and birthdays because I always forget them. And I always forget them because my mind is always on this.&rdquo;</p><p>The Capitals are suddenly struggling and they&rsquo;re facing an upstart Leafs team. Much of Washington&rsquo;s focus is on the league&rsquo;s leading scorer, Phil Kessel, who likes to set up to the left side of the net much the way Danny Briere of the Philadelphia Flyers does. But much of the power play focus is on the work of former Capital Dave Steckel, who has been a nice addition for Toronto. He leads the league in faceoff percentage and, as the Capitals will find out when he scores a shorthanded goal later that night, has been an effective penalty killer. &ldquo;Stecks isn&rsquo;t going to get in the way and block shots unless it hits him,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to stand there and look like he wants to block shots, but he doesn&rsquo;t want to block shots. We can shoot from up top.&rdquo;</p><p>Boudreau points out the Leafs have pretty consistently played a 1-3-1 and their defense tends to give up the blueline without closing the gap, meaning the Caps shouldn&rsquo;t have trouble gaining the zone with speed and setting up their offensive system. Good puck movement is the key to beating Toronto, he says, and by keeping it on the perimeter, the Leafs will run themselves tired and put themselves out of position. &ldquo;They go for goals when they get the opportunity, but they stay on the ice a little too long and that&rsquo;s going to be their problem,&rdquo; Boudreau says. &ldquo;They get caught out of position and good puck moving teams can catch them.&rdquo;</p><p>All his words go for naught hours later when the Maple Leafs thump the Capitals 7-1, handing them their most humiliating loss in years.</p><p>The suddenly fragile Capitals still have 64 games to get back on track, but by this time the Florida Panthers have passed them for first place in the Southeast Division.</p><p>As the bags are being packed and the players trudge off to their bus, the good feeling following a win has eluded them again. They make their way for another silent bus ride, followed by another subdued plane ride home.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011248/9559610-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="1032" height="750"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>SENT PACKING</b></p><p><b>After a humbling journey, the Caps and their equipment returned to D.C. for a new beginning.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>But on this night, they&rsquo;ll get to sleep in their own beds for the first time in six days. And they play again in two nights, this time at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C.</p><p>A road trip that had the potential to galvanize the group and give it a good feeling entering a busy time in the schedule has done the opposite. Given the circumstances, a stretch in which they play six of seven at home couldn&rsquo;t come at a better time.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0028-01

TORONTO

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011426/9559683-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(GREGORY SHAMUS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>PITTSBURGH -</b></p><p class="dropcap"><b><span>A</span> TOUCH PASS</b> from Pascal Dupuis less than six minutes into the game sent Sidney Crosby streaking down the right side of the ice with three Islanders caught flat-footed beside him. The Penguins center fended off Andrew MacDonald then whipped a laser of a backhand past netminder Anders Nilsson, who was unmercifully given his first NHL start that night. The home crowd erupted. It was Stanley Cup-winning loud during a November mismatch against a divisional doormat. And Crosby&rsquo;s exaltation &ndash; not appropriate for family reading but perfect for HBO&rsquo;s <i>24/7</i> series &ndash; was the punctuation on the goal that started one of the best comeback games in NHL history. &ldquo;It came pretty early, which was nice,&rdquo; Crosby said. &ldquo;Hopefully everyone wasn&rsquo;t reading lips at home, but it was pretty exciting &ndash; couldn&rsquo;t hold that in.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;ll do Sid, that&rsquo;ll do. The Pittsburgh Penguins were pretty decent without Crosby &ndash; perched atop the Eastern Conference this year, as a matter of fact. And when he went down last season with a concussion shortly after the Winter Classic, his shipmates were still able to grab home-ice advantage in the playoffs, nearly advancing into the second round. And that was without fellow drink-stirrer Evgeni Malkin in the lineup as well.</p><p>So what does it mean that the franchise has the best player in the world back in the fold? Trouble for the rest of the NHL come springtime. &ldquo;This is probably as good a team as I&rsquo;ve played on,&rdquo; said defenseman Brooks Orpik. &ldquo;From top to bottom &ndash; and we&rsquo;re probably getting ahead of ourselves this early in the season &ndash; but this team definitely has the ability to achieve what we did in 2009.&rdquo;</p><p>That campaign ended with a Stanley Cup. Some of the faces have changed &ndash; Rob Scuderi is now Zbynek Michalek, James Neal is a much younger Bill Guerin &ndash; but that vaunted core of Crosby, Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury remains. Kris Letang has taken over as the No. 1 defenseman from Sergei Gonchar and, maybe most importantly, Dan Bylsma has been coaching the team for more than a couple of months. &ldquo;We try to play a certain way whether Sid&rsquo;s in the lineup or Geno&rsquo;s in the lineup or Staalsy&rsquo;s in the lineup or they&rsquo;re all missing,&rdquo; said veteran mucker Craig Adams. &ldquo;I think we did a good job of that last year. Even through injuries, we called a lot of guys up and they seemed like interchangeable pieces. Whoever came up really committed to the system and that&rsquo;s why we were able to be successful.&rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>This is as good a team as I&rsquo;ve played on. From top to bottom</b><br><b>&ndash; Sidney Crosby</b></blockquote><p>Orpik believes the key to that seamless transition is the fact the Pens&rsquo; American League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton plays the exact same style as the big club and credits coach John Hynes for preparing call-ups properly.</p><p>As to the crux of that style, it&rsquo;s no surprise the Penguins rely on a puck possession game similar to other recent Cup winners such as Detroit and Chicago. &ldquo;To start, we had excellent goaltending and that covers up a lot of mistakes,&rdquo; Adams said. &ldquo;We try to play a way where we don&rsquo;t play a lot in our own end. We go back for pucks and try to break out as quickly as we can. You spend as little time in your end as possible and your chances of giving up goals are a lot less.&rdquo;</p><p>The addition of Neal on a line with Malkin has also been a boon. From his days in Dallas, the emerging talent was used to playing with an elite center when he skated with Brad Richards. A late February trade to Pittsburgh saw Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen come over from the Stars in exchange for puckmoving D-man Alex Goligoski, a calculated risk on the part of Penguins GM Ray Shero, who surely was aware of the irony he ran a team named after a bird but suffered at the wings. Pittsburgh had already lost offense from its blueline when Gonchar signed with Ottawa in the summer, meaning Letang was now shouldering the load in that regard. The fact Neal scored just two goals in 27 combined regular season and playoff games for the Pens while Goligoski flourished in Dallas was ominous to say the least.</p><p>But that was without Crosby and Malkin. Now riding shotgun with the big Russian and veteran newcomer Steve Sullivan, Neal was leading the team in scoring with 22 points through 22 games. &ldquo;Geno&rsquo;s such a good passer and he uses his speed so well through the neutral zone,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Sully&rsquo;s the same way &ndash; great skater and great passer. As long as I put myself in spots where I can get the puck off, good things happen.&rdquo;</p><p>They did on the night of Crosby&rsquo;s return. There was a fresh vibe in the Penguins dressing room, a sprawling, plush circle in the two-year-new Consol Energy Center. At the risk of sounding maudlin, magic was in the air that Monday with the team knowing its young captain would be playing his first NHL game in nearly a calendar year.</p><p>&ldquo;It was pretty loose all day,&rdquo; Orpik said. &ldquo;A bunch of us found out Sunday night, watching the news or someone texting you. When we got to the rink it felt like a first playoff game. Guys had a little more jump in their step in practice; we were a little more loud, a little more vocal. During warmups, I&rsquo;ve never seen the building so crowded. Then coming out right before the drop of the puck &ndash; it was probably louder than when we played Tampa in the playoffs.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02878/9559676-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="1395" height="842"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Marc-Andre Fleury excelled in goal during Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s absence.</b></figcaption></div><p>In that first round seven-game stand against the Lightning, the Pens couldn&rsquo;t muster enough offense to match the likes of Steven Stamkos and Martin St-Louis. Crosby and Malkin remedy that problem, but with Sid&rsquo;s injury being so much more fragile than Geno&rsquo;s, Crosby&rsquo;s return was  a little sweeter. &ldquo;The main thing was the joy of playing, which is something I&rsquo;ve missed the past 10 months,&rdquo; Crosby said. &ldquo;It felt like I was waiting forever.&rdquo;</p><p>Penguins fans know the feeling. And though he won&rsquo;t tally four points every night, seeing No. 87 on the ice has them justly thinking more post-season glory is not too far away.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011306/9559669-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="132" height="129"></div><p>FOR RYAN KENNEDY&rsquo;S IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE SUCCESS OF THE PENGUINS, VISIT THE FEATURE SECTION AT <b><a href="http://thehockeynews.tv">THEHOCKEYNEWS.TV</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0030-01

THE KID GLOVES ARE OFF

<div class="byline">BY RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011402/9559714-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>BIRD BULLY</b></p><p><b>Frank Beaton wasn&rsquo;t known as a skill player, but he deftly avoided Cincinnati police.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(THN ARCHIVES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>F</span><b>irst they called call him</b>&nbsp;&lsquo;Never.&rsquo; Then they called him &lsquo;Seldom.&rsquo; When they called him &lsquo;Always,&rsquo; he quit. Well, that&rsquo;s the joke Frank Beaton likes to tell about his time and nickname with the New York Rangers.</p><p>The native of Antigonish, N.S., is a colorful character from a past and proud era. He&rsquo;s full of stories that harken back to simpler and grittier times and some of his tales feel as though they were left on the cutting room floor of <i>Slap Shot</i>.</p><p>Take Thanksgiving, 1977. Beaton&rsquo;s Birmingham Bulls were hosting the Cincinnati Stingers and, despite the talented roster Birmingham coach Glen Sonmor had, he changed it up &ndash; and madness ensued. &ldquo;We had guys like Mark Napier, Kenny Linseman, Frank Mahovlich, Paul Henderson and all these guys are expecting to start,&rdquo; Beaton recalled. &ldquo;But he started tough guys like (Steve) Durbano, Frank Beaton, Bobby Stephenson, Serge Beaudoin. All of a sudden everybody goes, &lsquo;Oooh, boy.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><blockquote class="pullQuote"><b>&ldquo;I ended up cleaning the gas with the guy&rsquo;s shirt.</b></blockquote><p>If Stingers coach Jacques Demers had known what the Bulls were about to throw his way, there&rsquo;s no doubt he would have countered with his own brass knuckles, but as the visiting team, he couldn&rsquo;t change his starters. &ldquo;The puck goes in our end and (Cincinnati&rsquo;s) Robbie Ftorek of all people runs Serge Beaudoin, who&rsquo;s about 6-foot-4, big strong guy and, well, here we go,&rdquo; Beaton said. What ensued was a massive brawl that was dubbed the Thanksgiving Massacre, which the Bulls won 12-2.</p><p>With so many interesting stories, there&rsquo;s a fair share of myths surrounding Beaton &ndash; namely the tale of the night he was carried out of a Cincinnati arena in a bag to evade the cops. It didn&rsquo;t happen that way, though he did have to sneak out.</p><p>As a member of the Stingers in 1975-76, Beaton was on his way to a home game in his new Corvette. He had an argument with a gas station attendant who dripped fuel on his car and refused to clean it up: &ldquo;I ended up cleaning up the gas with the guy&rsquo;s shirt&hellip;while he was still wearing it.&rdquo;</p><p>Fast-forward one year when, as a member of the World Hockey Association&rsquo;s Edmonton Oilers, he found himself in Cincinnati again. The team heard undercover policemen were coming for Beaton after the game due to the gas station incident, so coach Glen Sather devised a plan. At a whistle toward the end of the game, everybody on the bench jumped over the boards as the five players on the ice came off. The confusion allowed Beaton to sneak into a separate dressing room where the equipment manager moved his clothes.</p><p>He then slipped out the Zamboni exit and waited in the parking lot until the players started filing out: &ldquo;Richie Leduc, who played for Cincinnati, was going to his car with his wife,&rdquo; Beaton said. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;m going &lsquo;Psst, hey, Richie it&rsquo;s me, it&rsquo;s &lsquo;Beater.&rsquo; I need some help.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>So he hopped in the back and Leduc pulled up behind the Oilers bus. Leduc whispered to Sather where Beaton was and that they&rsquo;d follow the bus until they crossed the state line, at which point Beaton could rejoin his mates. &ldquo;The cops are trying to figure out how I&rsquo;m going to get on this bus,&rdquo; Beaton said. &ldquo;So as the stick bags were going under the bus, they&rsquo;re kicking them.&rdquo;</p><p>He joined the NHL&rsquo;s Rangers in 1978-79 for two games, and appeared 23 times the next year. He scored his first and only goal in Vancouver. &ldquo;I actually think it went in off somebody&rsquo;s butt,&rdquo; he joked. &ldquo;Like Gretzky said, 100 percent of the shots you don&rsquo;t take don&rsquo;t go in, so I fired one on net and the damn thing went in. I kept waiting for somebody to say, &lsquo;I tipped that.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p><p>Beaton retired at 30 with a young family to take care of. He became a loan officer and ran his own mortgage company until the bottom fell out of the market. Now 58, he&rsquo;s currently a supervisor for Dexter Mining Inc., which provides heavy equipment services for iron-ore mining, in Labrador City, Nfld.</p><p>FOR MORE TALES OF PAST HOCKEY GREATS, CLICK ON <b><a href="http://THN.COM/BACKCHECKING">THN.COM/BACKCHECKING</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0032-01

Seldom Boring

<div class="byline">BY RORY BOYLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0034-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03783/9559745-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>JASON GARRISON</b></p><p><b>BRIAN CAMPBELL</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(GARRISON/CAMPBELL: TRAVIS GOLBY/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011419/9559759-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="70" height="81"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02984/9559752-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="177" height="119"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>J</span><b>ason Garrison</b> isn&rsquo;t a well-known name around the NHL. In fact, when he was asked for an interview in the dressing room after a game a voice from the next stall over cracked at the request. &ldquo;Must be a slow day at The Hockey News,&rdquo; said veteran Ed Jovanovski.</p><p>But despite Garrison&rsquo;s low profile, he&rsquo;s an intriguing talent. With eight goals through 21 games, the Minnesota-Duluth grad led all defensemen in the category and was on pace for a 31-goal season. And who was leading all defensemen in points? How about Garrison&rsquo;s partner, Brian Campbell. The former Hawk knew little about his new teammate before he arrived in Florida, but the two have quickly become comfortable with each other. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a big shot and we&rsquo;re both lefties so I&rsquo;m trying to find him as much as I can,&rdquo; said Campbell. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s easy to play with. He&rsquo;s solid in all areas, good skater, makes really good decisions and we feed off each other a lot so it&rsquo;s been a good pair for us. He&rsquo;s got a lot of upside and he&rsquo;s still learning the game, too.&rdquo;</p><p>And what better way for a defensively stout blueliner to learn how to round out his game than to play with the offense-minded Campbell? To anyone who has followed the Panthers in recent times, it won&rsquo;t come as a surprise Garrison is again logging major minutes for the team. During his first full NHL season last year, Garrison pulled down 22:17 of ice time per game and hovered around level ground in plus-minus, even though Florida was the worst team in the East and allowed 34 more goals than they scored. He wasn&rsquo;t a point producer and is already approaching his total for 2010-11, so the maturation of that side of his game has allowed new coach Kevin Dineen to trust him with big minutes once again, even after the team added a couple of experienced players.</p><p>&ldquo;Bringing Campbell in, obviously he logs a lot of minutes, so I definitely don&rsquo;t expect to play more than he does,&rdquo; Garrison said. &ldquo;(The coaches) just told me I have to build off the year I had and they&rsquo;ll put me in the same position and obviously partner me up with &lsquo;Soup&rsquo; and be in a supportive role.&rdquo;</p><p>When you play your first NHL season at 26 and have a breakout like this at 27, you get labelled a late bloomer. In fact, everything about Garrison&rsquo;s game has been late developing. He was 18 when he played his first year in the British Columbia League with the Nanaimo Clippers and moved from forward back to defense. At 21, he was an undrafted college freshman and played three years for the Bulldogs, where he didn&rsquo;t take over on the offensive side of the puck, totalling just nine goals. He spent 2008-09 in Rochester of the American League and split the following season between the Americans and Panthers before staying in Florida full time last season.</p><p>Aside from the veterans he plays with, Garrison also credits assistant coach and Panthers expansion draft pick Gord Murphy with helping him refine his game at the NHL level. &ldquo; &lsquo;Murph&rsquo; played a long time and has shown me the way,&rdquo; Garrison said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s always something you can work on, be better offensively, better defensively. This year has been the year for me where I&rsquo;ve tried to get my shot through as much as possible &ndash; focusing on finding the lane.&rdquo;</p><p>So far it&rsquo;s been working, even if it didn&rsquo;t earn him a slot on the all-star ballot. But with the attention opponents have to pay to Florida&rsquo;s hot top forward line and Garrison&rsquo;s flashy defense partner, the Panthers would be happy to see their newfound blueline bomber continue to evade enemy radar &ndash; if only so the veterans can keeping taking pot shots at him.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-03

Garrison Time

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04634/9559790-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="326" height="407"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>DMITRY KULIKOV</b> <span class="photo-credit">(KULIKOV: PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>D. Kulikov</b></p><p>2010-11</p><p><i>26</i></p><p><b>B. McCabe</b></p><p>2009-10</p><p><i>43</i></p><p><b>J. Bouwmeester</b></p><p>2008-09</p><p><i>42</i></p><p><b>J. Bouwmeester</b></p><p>2007-08</p><p><i>37</i></p><p><b>J. Bouwmeester</b></p><p>2006-07</p><p><i>42</i></p><p><b>J. Bouwmeester</b></p><p><b>2005-06</b></p><p><i>46</i></p><p><b>M. Van Ryn</b></p><p>2003-04</p><p><i>37</i></p><p><b>J. Bouwmeester</b></p><p>2002-03</p><p><i>16</i></p><p><b>S. Ozolinsh</b></p><p>2001-02</p><p><i>52</i></p><p><b>R. Svehla</b></p><p>2000-01</p><p><i>28</i></p><p>47 <b>Points Garrison is on pace for this season. He had 18 in 2010-11</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0034-04

Back PANTHERS

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROB ROSSI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-011320/9559898-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-15168/9559905-1-eng-US/f0036-152.jpg" title="f0036-15" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02888/9559891-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="605" height="732"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MATT COOKE</b> <span class="photo-credit">(COOKE: MARISSA BAECKER/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>M</span>att Cooke&rsquo;s transformation this season has been unbelievable to most, especially within a hockey community that had written him off as less of a player and more of a menace.</p><p>Before he joined the Penguins in 2008, Cooke had a reputation for crossing the line between aggressive and dirty play. Through last season, he&rsquo;d amassed four suspensions with the Penguins for questionable hits, including one in March, 2010 that shelved Boston&rsquo;s Marc Savard and a knockdown of the Rangers&rsquo; Ryan McDonagh a year later. The Savard hit turned Cooke infamous, but he was not suspended. The McDonagh hit took Cooke out of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s lineup for 17 games, including seven playoff matches.</p><p>So far this season, he had no controversial hits, more goals (10) than penalty minutes (eight) and was playing at such a level that a teammate confided that, were Cooke&rsquo;s last name different, people would talk him up as a Selke Trophy candidate.</p><p>Cooke wouldn&rsquo;t go that far, but he&rsquo;s on track to achieve two of his goals: avoid a suspension and finish the season with more points than penalty minutes. &ldquo;I need to prove to people, including my teammates, coaches and owners, that I can play this game the right way,&rdquo; Cooke said in August. &ldquo;And I need to show my kids that people can change. That&rsquo;s what this season is all about for me.&rdquo;</p><p>So far, Cooke has lived up to his word.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03733/9559884-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="753" height="629"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04584/9559877-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="305" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CARTER: NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Whenever the Devils depart Newark, they develop a serious case of road rage. They&rsquo;ve dished out a league-low 132 hits at home, but they&rsquo;re third in the league with 268 road body-checks. <b>Ryan Carter</b>, snagged from Florida on waivers earlier this season, had 42 hits in 12 games with New Jersey, placing him two behind David Clarkson for the team lead.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05498/9559870-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="753" height="594"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-06440/9559863-1-eng-US/f0036-062.jpg" title="f0036-06" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(STREIT: JANA CHYTILOVA/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Opposition barns have owned the Islanders, who were the only team without a road win (0-5-2) through late November. They drew the short straw to be the visiting club in Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s return Nov. 21 and took a 5-0 pounding. Captain <b>Mark Streit</b> and the Isles must gel away from home soon, as only Boston has played fewer road games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-07371/9559856-1-eng-US/f0036-072.jpg" title="f0036-07" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-08316/9559849-1-eng-US/f0036-082.jpg" title="f0036-08" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(RICHARDS: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>When <b>Brad Richards</b> signed with the Rangers, one reason was to play in hallowed Madison Square Garden full time. But he had to wait until late October to debut at MSG because the Blueshirts started the season on a seven-game road trip. The schedule is kinder the rest of the season, however, with only one trip longer than three games.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-09271/9559842-1-eng-US/f0036-092.jpg" title="f0036-09" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-10240/9559835-1-eng-US/f0036-102.jpg" title="f0036-10" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JAGR: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>When word leaked <b>Jaromir Jagr</b> wanted to return to the NHL, many pundits predicted he&rsquo;d return to Pittsburgh to team up with Sidney Crosby. However, the Flyers swooped in and plucked JJ from their Pennsylvania rival. We&rsquo;ll find out if Jagr gets the turncoat treatment when makes his first visit to Steeltown in the orange and black Dec. 29.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-11220/9559828-1-eng-US/f0036-112.jpg" title="f0036-11" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-12204/9559821-1-eng-US/f0036-122.jpg" title="f0036-12" width="305" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NEAL: DALE MACMILLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>James</b>&nbsp;<b>Neal</b> has found his scoring touch and Sidney Crosby&rsquo;s return can only boost it, but the Pens must be perplexed by his schizophrenic stats. The 24-year-old was on fire at Consol Energy Center, scoring 10 goals in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s nine home games. But Neal had just two goals in 12 contests away from the friendly confines.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0036-01

Matt Cooke’s New Recipe

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ADAM PROTEAU</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-011280/9560013-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-15121/9560020-1-eng-US/f0038-152.jpg" title="f0038-15" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02880/9560006-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="601" height="711"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>TIM CONNOLLY</b></figcaption></div><p>Tim Connolly isn&rsquo;t the most durable NHLer, but fretting over his inability to beat Doug Jarvis&rsquo; ironman record is just plain dumb.</p><p>Sure, the 30-year-old Connolly missed 12 of Toronto&rsquo;s first 18 contests and hasn&rsquo;t played 80 games in a season since 2002-03. However, look at what the veteran center has done with his new team when healthy and you&rsquo;ll see why Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke gave him a two-year, $9.5-million contract in the summer.</p><p>With three goals and seven assists in 10 games, Connolly has produced at a point-per-game pace and made his cynics look silly. &ldquo;The guys I&rsquo;m playing with now are making it a lot easier for me,&rdquo; said Connolly, who became Toronto&rsquo;s second-line center after Mikhail Grabovski was hurt. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to keep it simple and get my legs under me, which usually takes a few games.&rdquo;</p><p>According to one NHL GM who lauded Burke&rsquo;s signing of the former Sabre and Islander, putting Connolly on the second line wasn&rsquo;t likely the initial plan, but the success of Toronto&rsquo;s first line gives Connolly, an Erie Otters grad, a chance to boost its secondary scoring.</p><p>&ldquo;When Phil Kessel was in Boston, he played some of his best games because of Marc Savard &ndash; that&rsquo;s what I think Burkie saw in Connolly,&rdquo; said the GM. &ldquo;Plans changed because they&rsquo;re getting good chemistry and great results with Kessel and (center) Tyler Bozak on the same line, so they can use Connolly to spark that second line.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03709/9559999-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="753" height="629"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04576/9559992-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="305" height="508"></div><p><b>Zdeno Chara&rsquo;s</b> Bruins were the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s most physical team at home, doling out 274 hits in 13 games for an average of 21.1. They were 27th in road hits at 141 &ndash; because they&rsquo;d played only six times away from Boston. They actually averaged a superior 23.5 hits on the road. Chara&rsquo;s 45 bodychecks tied for the team lead (home and away).</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05464/9559985-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="753" height="594"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-06397/9559978-1-eng-US/f0038-062.jpg" title="f0038-06" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(MILLER: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Sabres started 5-6-0 at home, but they&rsquo;ve been demons on the road, going 7-2-0. In part, that&rsquo;s because of <b>Ryan Miller&rsquo;s</b> lopsided splits. In six home games, his GAA was 3.90 and his SP was .879. In five road games, he posted a 1.72 GAA and .944 SP. His career 2.57 GAA at home and 2.58 away mark suggest the numbers will even out.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-07335/9559971-1-eng-US/f0038-072.jpg" title="f0038-07" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-08273/9559964-1-eng-US/f0038-082.jpg" title="f0038-08" width="305" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CHARA+GIONTA: FRANCOIS LACASSE/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>When captain <b>Brian Gionta</b> and the Canadiens travel to Vancouver March 10, they&rsquo;ll try to continue reversing an awful road trend against the Canucks. Last February, Montreal won in Vancouver for the first time since November 2000. Since the turn of the century, the Habs are 2-9-0 in B.C. In the 30 years before that, they were 34-8-8 there.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-09233/9559957-1-eng-US/f0038-092.jpg" title="f0038-09" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-10197/9559950-1-eng-US/f0038-102.jpg" title="f0038-10" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(FOLIGNO: JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Through 21 games, the Sens averaged more goals on the road (3.0) than at home (2.6). That makes <b>Nick Foligno&rsquo;s</b> road struggles hard to fathom. The left winger is a plus-2 at Scotiabank Place, but a team-worst minus-8 away from Ottawa. Over his career, he&rsquo;s plus-1 at home versus minus-30 on the road, so the current stats reflect a larger trend.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-11173/9559943-1-eng-US/f0038-112.jpg" title="f0038-11" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-12160/9559936-1-eng-US/f0038-122.jpg" title="f0038-12" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CONNOLLY+LILES: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>John-Michael</b>&nbsp;<b>Liles</b> is a study in home/road contrasts. The D-man played 11 road and home games, but posted drastically different numbers. At the Air Canada Centre, he had three assists and was a minus-5. On the road, he had three goals, 10 points and was a plus-6. Last year in Colorado, his splits were identical: three goals, 23 assists both home and away.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0038-01

Quality Over Quantity

<div class="byline">&#x2013; TIM CAMPBELL</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-011173/9560135-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-15102/9560128-1-eng-US/f0039-152.jpg" title="f0039-15" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02774/9560121-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="605" height="720"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>KYLE WELLWOOD</b> <span class="photo-credit">(WELLWOOD: JONATHAN KOZUB/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Hard to kill &ndash; and some coaches have tried &ndash; is part of the Kyle Wellwood story. Ideal fit, how-ever, is at least half the equation.</p><p>A September signee, the 28-year-old center was the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; scoring leader at the quarter mark with seven goals and 17 points through 21 games. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so smart,&rdquo; said left winger Tanner Glass. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why he sticks around, because of his head. It&rsquo;s not his physical ability. He&rsquo;s just so good at recognizing where the pressure is and the open ice.&rdquo;</p><p>Wellwood has done exactly what the Jets hoped he would &ndash; provide offensive leadership for a young team on which no such obvious choices existed. And that&rsquo;s despite having missed much of training camp, which started just a few days after he had his appendix removed. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten an opportunity on the power play and that had been a staple of my game when I was productive,&rdquo; Well-wood said. &ldquo;To get that opportunity again, to play with the top lines and get good, quality minutes offensively is the key.&rdquo;</p><p>Wellwood had few other options except for tryout offers. Winnipeg&rsquo;s late one-way, $700,000 deal looked pretty good to him and has given GM Kevin Cheveldayoff some reason to smile. &ldquo;When we initially signed Kyle, we signed him for his versatility, in that he could play multiple positions and that he could play up and down the lineup on different lines,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Claude (Noel) has used him in a lot of different areas and he&rsquo;s been very, very successful.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05427/9560114-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="753" height="629"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04509/9560107-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(WARD: RICHARD WOLOWICZ/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>If Carolina is to turn around from a sluggish quarter, it&rsquo;ll need to cut down its goals against away from home. The Canes allowed 3.55 goals per game on the road (third worst in the NHL) and gave up at least three goals in nine of 11 road contests for a 3-6-2 record. <b>Cam Ward</b> was in net the two games they allowed two or fewer goals.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07309/9560100-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="753" height="594"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06353/9560093-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="305" height="508"></div><p>For all that&rsquo;s been made of the Panthers&rsquo; hot start, it&rsquo;s easy to miss the fact the team has been better on the road. Leading scorer <b>Kris Versteeg</b> averaged better than a point per game (16 in 11 games) and led NHLers in road scoring. In fact, only three Panthers had scored more points at home than on the road through the first quarter.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-09210/9560086-1-eng-US/f0039-092.jpg" title="f0039-09" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08261/9560079-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(STAMKOS: LANCE THOMSON/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>For all the firepower the Lightning have, you wouldn&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;d have trouble scoring on the man advantage. But the sixth-ranked PP from a year ago struggles on the road. Their PP conversion rate away from home was 28th through the first quarter with <b>Steven Stamkos</b> averaging 4:08 of man-advantage time, 37th in the league.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-11156/9560072-1-eng-US/f0039-112.jpg" title="f0039-11" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-10179/9560065-1-eng-US/f0039-102.jpg" title="f0039-10" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SEMIN: ABELIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>With his lackluster play, it&rsquo;s no wonder <b>Alex Semin</b> was benched for half of one game and made a healthy scratch in another. Semin has been OK at home, but his problems have been magnified on the road, where he was a team-worst minus-7 and had just one goal, putting the sniper on par with checkers Jeff Halpern and Jason Chimera.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03608/9560058-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-12140/9560051-1-eng-US/f0039-122.jpg" title="f0039-12" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(VERSTEEG+KANE: MARIANNE HELM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The most out-of-place team in its division league-wide, the Jets can breathe a sigh of relief that their longest road trip is over. The seven-game stretch from Oct. 27-Nov. 8 ended with the team gaining an impressive eight points. <b>Evander Kane</b> posted a team-high six points on the trip, accounting for all his road points in the first quarter of the season.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0039-01

Wellwood A Wunderkind

<div class="byline">BY MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03426/9560166-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LEHTONEN: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-08188/9560180-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-07219/9560173-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="195" height="131"></div><p class="dropcap"><b><span>D</span>allas goaltending</b> coach Mike Valley calls Kari Lehtonen the hardest-working goalie he&rsquo;s ever been around, but that wasn&rsquo;t always the case.</p><p>Drafted second overall by Atlanta in 2002, Lehtonen had a reputation that for a long time revolved more around his fondness for McDonald&rsquo;s, video games and movie-themed goalie masks than it did hard work. He was out of shape and that&rsquo;s why critics said he was often hurt.</p><p>But that&rsquo;s not the Lehtonen the Stars see today. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s relentless in workouts and practice,&rdquo; Valley said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s his own worst critic when it comes to video sessions. He&rsquo;s just a guy who really, really puts the work in. I&rsquo;m impressed by him every day I&rsquo;m around him.&rdquo;</p><p>So what happened? Well, it&rsquo;s tough to peel back Lehtonen&rsquo;s layers. He truly believes he worked hard in the past and doesn&rsquo;t dismiss his time in Atlanta as a waste. He did have back issues and said he finally found the right doctor and had the right surgery.</p><p>Now pain-free for the first time in a long while, he&rsquo;s reticent to criticize the Thrashers and their training staff. They tried hard and had some good years. It just didn&rsquo;t work out. But Lehtonen admits he&rsquo;s in a better place in his life today. &ldquo;You mature, you learn, you grow,&rdquo; Lehtonen said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t try to analyze it, I just try to live it.&rdquo;</p><p>Lehtonen is clearly a different goalie approaching age 28. He dropped 25 pounds and got married last summer. He has matured. &ldquo;We got him at the right time,&rdquo; said Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk. &ldquo;He is a very motivated player.&rdquo;</p><p>Credit to the Stars for fostering that motivation. When Nieuwendyk played for Florida in the mid-2000s, he faced Lehtonen as a Southeast rival and remembered tremendous potential in the 6-foot-4 Finn. So in finding Marty Turco&rsquo;s replacement, he chose a youngster with a high ceiling. He swung what now seems like a steal, sending 2006 first-rounder Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth round pick to Atlanta for Lehtonen.</p><p>But Nieuwendyk didn&rsquo;t stop at just making the trade. He set up Lehtonen with strength and conditioning coach J.J. McQueen and they immediately changed how Lehtonen trained. He also paired him with Valley and the two have spent countless hours reviewing film and discussing the craft. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been the biggest change for me,&rdquo; Lehtonen said of Valley, a former Swedish Elite Leaguer. &ldquo;He used to play in Europe, too, so he kind of knows what I&rsquo;ve been doing ever since I was five and we&rsquo;ve been trying to bring those things back every day we go out on the ice. That&rsquo;s been a huge help.&rdquo;</p><p>Lehtonen&rsquo;s game is more ef-ficient now. He stays in his crease, maintains his angles, keeps his torso upright and lets the puck hit him. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s as naturally talented a goalie as I&rsquo;ve seen,&rdquo; Valley said. &ldquo;If we put him in the right position, then it&rsquo;s just letting his hand-eye coordination and quickness &ndash; and his instincts &ndash; do the rest. He&rsquo;s very focused on being technically correct right now and it&rsquo;s paying off.&rdquo;</p><p>Lehtonen started the season 11-1-0 with a 2.16 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. He gave the Stars a huge confidence cushion by stealing some games they didn&rsquo;t deserve to win. Now, he&rsquo;s finding the team supporting him on a regular basis. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to separate the goalie out from the rest of the team,&rdquo; said first-year Stars coach Glen Gulutzan. &ldquo;In our minds, the goalie is a huge part of the team. That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re working toward with Kari &ndash; he&rsquo;s a huge part of what we&rsquo;re building here. And just like with the rest of us, when you put in the work, you tend to get the results.&rdquo;<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-03

Lunch-Pail Lehtonen

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04341/9560211-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="280" height="451"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>BRIAN ELLIOTT</b> <span class="photo-credit">(ELLIOTT: RICH LAM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>2011-12 WIN % LEADERS*</p><p>*Minimum five decisions</p><p><b>Brian Elliott</b></p><p>St. Louis</p><p><i>.875 (7-1)</i></p><p><b>James Reimer</b></p><p>Toronto</p><p><i>.800 (4-1)</i></p><p><b>Jhonas Enroth</b></p><p>Buffalo</p><p><i>.778 (7-2)</i></p><p><b>Kari Lehtonen</b></p><p>Dallas</p><p><i>.750 (12-4)</i></p><p><b>M-A Fleury</b></p><p>Pittsburgh</p><p><i>.733 (11-4)</i></p><p><b>Antti Niemi</b></p><p>San Jose</p><p><i>.727 (8-3)</i></p><p><b>Josh Harding</b></p><p>Minnesota</p><p><i>.714 (5-2)</i></p><p><b>Tim Thomas</b></p><p>Boston</p><p><i>.692 (9-4)</i></p><p><b>Tomas Vokoun</b></p><p>Washington</p><p><i>.692 (9-4)</i></p><p><b>Jimmy Howard</b></p><p>Detroit</p><p><i>.625 (10-6)</i></p><p>1.99 <b>Kari Lehtonen&rsquo;s goals-against average over seven road starts</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0040-04

JUST WIN Baby!

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JEREMY RUTHERFORD</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-15" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1545/9560326-1-eng-US/f0041-152.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1639/9560319-1-eng-US/f0041-162.jpg" title="f0041-16" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01757/9560312-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="532" height="647"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ALEXANDER STEEN</b> <span class="photo-credit">(STEEN: ANDY DEVLIN/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Three years after his trade from Toronto, Alex Steen admits he&rsquo;s finally blossomed into the player he envisioned being.</p><p>A first round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2002, Steen always possessed offensive talent, following in the footsteps of his father, former Winnipeg Jet great Thomas Steen. But it was the younger Steen&rsquo;s goal to master all aspects of the game. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like being stapled as one type of player,&rdquo; Steen said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like being called a defensive forward. The reverse is true, too &ndash; all offense, no defense &ndash; that would bother me. I want to be able to evolve at all times.&rdquo;</p><p>Since arriving in St. Louis in 2008, Steen, 27, has averaged a goal in one quarter of the 220-plus games he&rsquo;s played with the Blues. This season, the left winger was leading the team in goals and his plus-minus rating was in double-digits through late November. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s mature in his approach to the game,&rdquo; said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock. &ldquo;Players come in with a certain thought process on what they are as players and then their game evolves. Once it evolves, the question is &lsquo;OK, am I willing to be this type of player?&rsquo; If players continually fight that role, then you never get success with a guy.</p><p>&ldquo;But Alex has bought into what he needs to do to be a good player. He plays every situation and he&rsquo;s very effective because of it. For me, that&rsquo;s where the player buys into what he&rsquo;s going to be for the rest of his life. Now you&rsquo;ve got a good player you can count on.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-07230/9560305-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="474" height="396"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02488/9560298-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="305" height="505"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CARCILLO: MIKE RIDEWOOD/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Daniel Carcillo</b> is a world-class agitator, but the numbers suggest he&rsquo;s more reserved on the road. He had 14 hits and 18 penalty minutes over 10 away games, but exploded for 28 hits and 21 PIM through seven games in Chicago. The pattern held true his previous two seasons in Philadelphia: 120 PIM on the road versus 214 at home.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1267/9560291-1-eng-US/f0041-122.jpg" title="f0041-12" width="474" height="375"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03396/9560284-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(NASH: JANA CHYTILOVA/FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p><b>Rick Nash</b> and the Blue Jackets have struggled everywhere, but away games have really been a bugaboo. Over nine road contests, they went 1-7-1, were outscored 39-20 and allowed 13 power play goals in 33 times shorthanded, killing penalties at 60.6 percent. That mark is worst in league and 12 percent behind the 29th-best team.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1733/9560277-1-eng-US/f0041-172.jpg" title="f0041-17" width="474" height="375"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04342/9560270-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="305" height="503"></div><p><b>Nicklas Lidstrom</b> is a lock for the Hall of Fame, but the 41-year-old blueliner has been a shadow of his former self on the road this season. Lidstrom sizzled with six goals, 11 points and a plus-10 rating in 10 games at Joe Louis Arena, but labored through nine road games, going goal-less, notching just three assists and going minus-4.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-08177/9560263-1-eng-US/f0041-082.jpg" title="f0041-08" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05309/9560256-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="305" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(LIDSTROM+WEBER: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Defenseman <b>Shea Weber</b> is a $7.5-million man and due for a megadeal as a restricted free agent next summer, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he won&rsquo;t room with a grinder teammate. He and fellow B.C. native Jerred Smithson, who makes $800,000, have been hotel buddies almost their entire NHL careers. No word on how they split room service bills.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-10101/9560249-1-eng-US/f0041-102.jpg" title="f0041-10" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-1181/9560242-1-eng-US/f0041-112.jpg" title="f0041-11" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(HITCHCOCK: DILIP VISHWANAT/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>So far, so good for new bench boss <b>Ken Hitchcock</b>, who guided the team to a 4-0-2 record over six games. The catch: five of those contests were at home. The Blues&rsquo; December schedule includes two trips to Detroit, two trips to Colorado and a stop in Nashville. And that&rsquo;s after their visit to Pittsburgh and Washington in late November.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0041-15

Do The Evolution

<div class="byline">&#x2013; ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-14" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1446/9560434-1-eng-US/f0042-142.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01800/9560441-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="77" height="89"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03401/9560427-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="605" height="735"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>RYAN SMYTH</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span>hen the Edmonton Oilers brought left winger Ryan Smyth home from Los Angeles over the summer, they wanted him as much for his heart as his hands.</p><p>It&rsquo;s imperative their young stars are groomed properly, so who better to lead by example than somebody who plays and practises as hard as anyone who&rsquo;s ever worn the Oiler colors? &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great compliment,&rdquo; said Smyth, 35. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to be consistent in my work ethic &ndash; play and practise and battle hard.&rdquo;</p><p>That&rsquo;s what he always does. And he&rsquo;s eager to pass down what he learned from the likes of Kelly Buch-berger and Kevin Lowe when he debuted as an Oiler in the mid-1990s. &ldquo;They taught me a lot,&rdquo; Smyth said. &ldquo;You learn it, you see how important it is and you want it to rub off. Those guys won championships; they know how to win. And I see a lot of the same potential with this team now.&rdquo;</p><p>When the Oilers brought Smyth back for his leadership, they never expected he&rsquo;d score 11 of 41 goals by their forwards and tie for the team lead in points (19) with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at the quarter pole.</p><p>For whatever reason, Smyth and Edmonton have always been a perfect fit. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to chip in offensively and feel a part of it,&rdquo; Smyth said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said this many times &ndash; being around young kids really pushes you and with the experience I&rsquo;ve gained over the years I want to push them, too. It&rsquo;s a two-way street and it&rsquo;s been going good.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04323/9560420-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="753" height="629"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05276/9560413-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="305" height="508"></div><p>About the only thing <b>Roman Horak</b> and Lee Stempniak have in common is the fact they&rsquo;re both newcomers to the Flames. But the 20-year-old Czech rookie and the 28-year-old Buffalo native are hitting it off as road roommates and line-mates. Stempniak said Horak&rsquo;s English is strong, so the two spend time talking hockey and sharing experiences.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06246/9560406-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="753" height="594"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-07208/9560399-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(SMYTH+HORAK+O&rsquo;REILLY: DALE MACMILLAN/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Colorado won its first six road games, outscoring opponents 25-14. But the Avs have turned from road warriors to worriers since, losing five straight entering an eight-game homestand. Erik Johnson and <b>Ryan O&rsquo;Reilly</b> were both goal-less in 11 road games. Semyon Varlamov posted a 4.00 road GAA. Colorado lost 18 of its last 22 away from home last season.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-08159/9560392-1-eng-US/f0042-082.jpg" title="f0042-08" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-09127/9560385-1-eng-US/f0042-092.jpg" title="f0042-09" width="305" height="508"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(TEUBERT: NORM HALL/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The road hasn&rsquo;t been kind to 2008 first-rounder <b>Colten Teubert</b>. The rookie missed his first NHL recall when he didn&rsquo;t have his passport while on a road trip in Houston. The Oilers brought up Alex Plante instead. And while playing in Oklahoma City last year, Teubert&rsquo;s hotel was robbed of everything except his socks, a track suit and dress shoes.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-10102/9560378-1-eng-US/f0042-102.jpg" title="f0042-10" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1177/9560371-1-eng-US/f0042-112.jpg" title="f0042-11" width="305" height="503"></div><p>A December schedule packed with travel will expose the Wild as playoff contenders or pretenders. <b>Mikko Koivu&rsquo;s</b> crew plays three games in California, then Phoenix and Winnipeg in 10 days. After a couple home games, the Wild then travel northwest to play Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton in a four-day window before the Christmas break.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1264/9560364-1-eng-US/f0042-122.jpg" title="f0042-12" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-1353/9560357-1-eng-US/f0042-132.jpg" title="f0042-13" width="305" height="509"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KOIVU+SEDIN: JEFF VINNICK/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Captain <b>Henrik Sedin</b> and the Canucks had three chances to tighten the noose around the Bruins last spring, but lost three Stanley Cup final games in Boston by scores of 8-1, 4-0 and 5-2. When the Bruins won Game 7 in Vancouver, the three road defeats grew in ignominy. The Canucks return to Boston for the first time since those crushing setbacks Jan. 7.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0042-14

Exceptional Encore

<div class="byline">&#x2013; JONATHAN DAVIS</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01782/9560556-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1657/9560549-1-eng-US/f0043-162.jpg" title="f0043-16" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02538/9560542-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="657" height="771"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>ANZE KOPITAR</b></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>A</span>sk most pundits around the league who the top centers in the game are and you&rsquo;ll hear names like Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos and Pavel Datsyuk before Anze Kopitar. &ldquo;Sometimes it takes a deep playoff run to get that recognition as one of the best,&rdquo; said Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray.</p><p>Kopitar, once again, found himself among the NHL&rsquo;s points leaders with 23 in 20 games. He has led the Kings in points each of the past four seasons while never scoring fewer than 25 goals.</p><p>In previous seasons, Kopitar has carried the team on his back for long stretches, but with a lack of depth up front he never notched more than 81 points in a single campaign. In fact, in only one of those seasons did the Kings have another player with more than 60 (Alexander Frolov had 67 in 2007-08). This season, Kopitar is on pace for 37 goals and 94 points, both of which would be career highs.</p><p>The added depth up front with the additions of center Mike Richards and left winger Simon Gagne not only gives him the opportunity for a career season, it also takes the pressure off him to be the go-to guy night in and night out. &ldquo;Having Richards and Gagne gives us more guys who can score and play good defense,&rdquo; Kopitar said. &ldquo;But I still want to be the guy to be counted on each night and play hard minutes.&rdquo;</p><p>Those hard minutes, he hopes, will continue in the playoffs. Kopitar has played just six post-season games in now six seasons.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03449/9560535-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="474" height="396"></div><h2><b>FOR THE RECORD</b></h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04345/9560528-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="327" height="551"></div><p>They&rsquo;re getting production from 41-year-old <b>Teemu Selanne</b>, who had 13 points in 11 road games, but the Ducks fell on hard times in November and unfortunately, the time for banking points is now. In February, Anaheim plays eight straight road games. The only silver lining of the trip is that nearly all of it is spent in the Eastern time zone.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05299/9560521-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="753" height="594"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06247/9560514-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(BENN: PHILLIP MACCALLUM/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>The Stars have been middling on the road, but <b>Jamie Benn</b> is the exception. The third-year center had four goals and 12 points through 10 road games, putting him among NHL leaders. Benn had just one goal and seven points in 10 home contests. That was the case last year too when the 22-year-old had 31 road points compared to 25 at home.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-07210/9560507-1-eng-US/f0043-072.jpg" title="f0043-07" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-08163/9560500-1-eng-US/f0043-082.jpg" title="f0043-08" width="327" height="551"></div><p><b>Mike Richards</b> didn&rsquo;t have much Western Conference experience before this season, but he certainly landed in the right division. So far in his career, some of his best road performances have come in the Pacific&rsquo;s Dallas and Anaheim, where he has posted more than a point per game. Ironically, the Kings used to be a favorite victim of his, too.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-09122/9560493-1-eng-US/f0043-092.jpg" title="f0043-09" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-10107/9560486-1-eng-US/f0043-102.jpg" title="f0043-10" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(KOPITAR+SELANNE+RICHARDS+BISSONNETTE: HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>He&rsquo;s usually a scratch and doesn&rsquo;t score often, but tough guy <b>Paul Bissonnette</b> had some good timing when he and the Yotes rolled into Buffalo for their only meeting with the Sabres. Bissonnette grew up nearby in Welland, Ont., and scored his first goal of the year with his mom and grandparents watching him live for the first time in the NHL.</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1193/9560479-1-eng-US/f0043-112.jpg" title="f0043-11" width="753" height="593"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-1282/9560472-1-eng-US/f0043-122.jpg" title="f0043-12" width="327" height="551"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(CLOWE: GERRY THOMAS/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p>Sometimes opposites don&rsquo;t attract. Road roommates <b>Ryane Clowe</b> and Joe Pavelski are actually quite similar, which is why they get along. Both are quiet guys off the ice &ndash; until they get to the rink, that is. In the dressing room, Newfoundland&rsquo;s Clowe and Wisconsin&rsquo;s Pavelski are vocal leaders and that loudness translates onto the ice as well.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0043-01

Koping Mechanism

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01679/9560594-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>THE MIGHTY BOUCH</b></p><p><b>Sarnia&rsquo;s Reid Boucher has done a lot of sniping in a short time with the surging Sting.</b></p> <span class="photo-credit">(AARON BELL/OHL IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-1077/9560601-1-eng-US/f0044-102.jpg" title="f0044-10" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>R</span><b>eid Boucher</b> has a pretty succinct summation of what he does best on the ice. &ldquo;I shoot the puck,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I shoot from everywhere. Sometimes too much, but that&rsquo;s what I do.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02426/9560587-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="171" height="118"></div><p>Draft eligible by just two days last summer, the 18-year-old product of Lansing, Mich., was picked up 99th overall by the New Jersey Devils after a solid season with Team USA&rsquo;s national team development program. While teammates such as J.T. Miller, Rocco Grimaldi and Tyler Biggs got most of the press, Boucher was still an offensive presence with the NTDP, ringing up 26 goals and 40 points in 59 games against a variety of competition. Playing on such a stacked squad allowed the 5-foot-11, 190-pound center to hone different parts of his game. &ldquo;I learned systems,&rdquo; Boucher said. &ldquo;I learned how to play a grinding game, how to be a goal-scorer. I picked up a lot of tools that I use throughout my game today.&rdquo;</p><p>On a potent Sarnia Sting team known for top-end Russians Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk, Boucher was carving his own space on the ice thanks to his hard, accurate puck play and pro-caliber release. His 14 goals in 22 games ranked second on the Sting to Yakupov&rsquo;s 16 and the Sarnia staff are pleased with their new weapon. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s dangerous,&rdquo; said assistant coach Trevor Letowski. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not real flashy, but he just scores goals. Pucks go in for him that don&rsquo;t go in for most guys. He&rsquo;s got a pro shot.&rdquo;</p><p>Boucher was scheduled to play in the United States League this year with the Youngstown Phantoms before moving on to Michigan State in 2012-13.</p><p>But with Yakupov and Galchenyuk already in black and gold and highly regarded new coach-GM Jacques Beaulieu swaggering into town, the Sting lineup got a massive overhaul. Defenseman Connor Murphy was pried away from his commitment to Miami University, while trades brought veteran OHLers such as center Taylor Carnevale and goalie Brandon Maxwell into the fold.</p><p>With Galchenyuk&rsquo;s American birth certificate freeing him from import status, the team was able to bring in another European in Ludvig Rensfeldt, a big Swedish left winger drafted by Chicago. &ldquo;They have a lot of good players here,&rdquo; Boucher said. &ldquo;I thought it was the best way to get to my ultimate dream of playing in the NHL.&rdquo;</p><p>And though both Murphy and Galchenyuk were felled by injuries before the season started, the Sting are off to a much better start from last year&rsquo;s squad that missed the playoffs. Boucher&rsquo;s impact has not gone unnoticed in the room. &ldquo;He scores a lot of goals,&rdquo; Yakupov said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve changed the old team and we have a lot of pretty good players now.&rdquo;</p><p>There&rsquo;s still work to be done, however. Boucher has been playing on the wing in Sarnia and he&rsquo;s certainly no power forward. &ldquo;With him, I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s ever going to be overly physical,&rdquo; Letowski said. &ldquo;He has to continue to get stronger, but that doesn&rsquo;t necessarily mean adding weight, because a part of his game that needs to get stronger is his quickness and his skating. We monitor that pretty closely.&rdquo;</p><p>Another team that will be keeping an eye on Boucher as his OHL career progresses is the New Jersey Devils. Long an NHL powerhouse, the Devils have struggled to make a dent in the post-season since the lockout, but Boucher is optimistic about his rightsholder. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to know I&rsquo;m going to a place that&rsquo;s developing right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re starting to get a lot of big names in there and I&rsquo;m hoping to make it in the next couple years.&rdquo;</p><p>With offense a concern in New Jersey, the Devils won&rsquo;t want to wait too long.</p><p>133 <b>Boucher&rsquo;s PIM with the U.S. NTDP last season; he had just four in 22 GP with Sarnia</b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0044-01

Putting Zing In The Sting

<div class="byline">BY RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01588/9560639-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p><b>GET YOUR PHIL</b></p><p><b>Left winger Phil Di Giuseppe has earned crucial minutes with the Wolverines this year.</b></p></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1066/9560646-1-eng-US/f0045-102.jpg" title="f0045-10" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span><b>raft-eligible</b> freshmen are not that common in the NCAA and those in that category tend to be special. Jonathan Toews fits the mold, as does Zach Parise. This year, Michigan boasts left winger Phil Di Giuseppe, a 6-foot-1, 200-pounder who counted up six goals and 11 points in his first 14 games for the Wolverines. And just recently turned 18. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing above his age, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; said teammate Mac Bennett. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got a great set of hands, he&rsquo;s got wheels, he&rsquo;s very strong on the puck and he&rsquo;s heady, too. I think he&rsquo;s a great all-around player and he&rsquo;s only going to get better.&rdquo;</p><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02388/9560632-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="171" height="102"></div><p>Di Giuseppe is the latest in a string of Michigan stand-outs who hail from the Greater Toronto Area and come from an Italian heritage. And that&rsquo;s not a coincidence. &ldquo;My dad knew some of those players&rsquo; dads,&rdquo; Di Giuseppe said. &ldquo;He grew up with them and they said great things, so that&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m here.&rdquo;</p><p>One of those players was Montreal Canadiens star Mike Cammalleri. Anaheim&rsquo;s Andrew Cogliano and Ottawa prospect Louie Caporusso also fit into that lineage, but the fact Michigan is coached by the legendary Red Berenson was also a great draw. &ldquo;He knows more about hockey than any man I&rsquo;ve ever met in my life,&rdquo; Di Giuseppe said. &ldquo;He just knows the game and he knows what&rsquo;s going to happen before it happens &ndash; just like Wayne Gretzky.&rdquo;</p><p>And while Di Giuseppe has high praise for his Michigan coaching staff, the accolades go both ways. &ldquo;There are a lot of things to like about Phil&rsquo;s game,&rdquo; said assistant coach Brian Wiseman. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very high-end skill guy. Great instincts for the game and he loves to play hockey. He&rsquo;s around the rink a lot, working on extra things&hellip;It&rsquo;s great to have a guy like Phil on board.&rdquo;</p><p>Wiseman would still like to see Di Giuseppe learn to play at high pace more consistently and defensive zone responsibilities can always be honed further, but the coach sees a pupil willing to improve and put in the work necessary to do so.</p><p>The fact Di Giuseppe is draft eligible in his first season of NCAA can often be a double-whammy, but Wiseman&rsquo;s not worried. &ldquo;We would like to think there&rsquo;s no pressure,&rdquo; Wiseman said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s here, he has a purpose to be a part of something on this team. If he approaches games in the right manner, the draft will take care of itself and he&rsquo;ll get drafted where he should be, which we think will be pretty high.&rdquo;</p><p>For what it&rsquo;s worth, International Scouting Services has Di Giuseppe pegged at No. 46 in its latest rankings, while the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting watch list has him as an &lsquo;A&rsquo;-lister, putting him closer to a first-rounder.</p><p>In terms of Michigan&rsquo;s respect for him, Berenson has entrusted Di Giuseppe with a generous amount of ice time and power play duty, as well as crucial minutes at the end of close games.</p><p>With the left winger becoming so good so fast, the Wolverines know they need to get as much out of him as they can before he&rsquo;s gone.</p><p><b>For more on the future, check out: <a href="http://thn.com/prospects">thn.com/prospects</a></b><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-01

Wolverine Di-Light

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03327/9560677-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="481" height="659"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>MAC BENNETT</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BOTH: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he blueline combination of Mac Bennett and Greg Pateryn is an interesting one for the Michigan Wolverines. Both players are property of the Montreal Canadiens and it wouldn&rsquo;t be a stretch to see them together at the Bell Centre in a few years. &ldquo;Playing with Greg is something special,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;I think we have very complementary styles. I like to jump up into the play and he can be my anchor.&rdquo;</p><p>It&rsquo;s also been nice for the pair when they&rsquo;ve briefly been in the Montreal spotlight. &ldquo;When we do go to development camp, it&rsquo;s nice to know someone there,&rdquo; Bennett said.</p><p>Pateryn, the stay-at-home specialist, is also a pretty good trivia question answer: He was the player Montreal received from Toronto in the Mikhail Grabovski trade along with a second round draft selection. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound blueliner is a senior with the Maize and Blue, while Bennett is enjoying a successful sophomore campaign.</p><p>Athletic and daring, Bennett is adept at keeping the puck in the offensive zone and his ability to put up points has been on full display this season with three goals and 10 points through 14 games. Pateryn also has 10 points on the year, proving he&rsquo;s not a one-dimensional D-man.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0045-03

Bleu, Blanc And Maize

<div class="byline">BY UFFE BODIN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01593/9560715-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body"><p>STIG KENNE</p><p><b>PONTUS ABERG</b></p></figcaption></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03264/9560722-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="111" height="123"></div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>D</span><b>jurgarden IF</b> isn&rsquo;t just the Swedish equivalent of the Montreal Canadiens when it comes to championship banners. It&rsquo;s also one of the world&rsquo;s premier producers of hockey talent. Since poster boy Mats Sundin was drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989, the Stockholm-based organization has been responsible for developing players like Niklas Kronwall, Patric Hornqvist, Jacob Josefson and Mika Zibanejad.</p><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02381/9560708-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="123" height="145"></div><p>Next in line is speedy 18-year-old left winger Pontus Aberg, who&rsquo;s eligible for the 2012 NHL draft and has been one of the great surprises in the Swedish Elite League this fall. He didn&rsquo;t only make the jump from the junior team to the SEL. He also managed to grab a spot on Djurgarden&rsquo;s first line early and even led the team in goals for a stretch. &ldquo;It was a big surprise to myself as well,&rdquo; said Aberg, who had six goals and 11 points through 22 games. &ldquo;I went into the summer with the mindset that I wanted to make the team out of camp. I worked hard and took advantage of the chance I was given.&rdquo;</p><p>Not everyone was surprised. When Zibanejad returned to Djurgarden after his nine-game stint with the Ottawa Senators, he was happy to see his old teammate had grasped the opportunity. &ldquo;He has always been very skilled,&rdquo; Zibanejad said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just up to himself to decide how good he is going to be. You can tell he has been doing his homework this summer. He&rsquo;s stronger and plays a better all-round game. It&rsquo;s good to see that his hard work is paying off.&rdquo;</p><p>Although Aberg hasn&rsquo;t maintained his initial torrid pace, NHL scouts are still impressed by the offensively gifted youngster. In its November rankings, for instance, International Scouting Services had him tabbed as the eighth-best prospect. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t occupy my mind with that,&rdquo; Aberg said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather wait until it really matters on draft day. Of course it would be an honor to be chosen among the best players, but until the draft, I just need to focus on my game.&rdquo;</p><p>So what will the NHL team that selects Aberg get? He said he&rsquo;s inspired by the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Steven Stamkos, players who run and gun. &ldquo;I try to use my speed and shoot a lot,&rdquo; Aberg said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my game. Hopefully, I score every now and then.&rdquo;</p><p>Zibanejad is straight-forward when describing Aberg. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a sniper,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a goal-scorer that doesn&rsquo;t pass up a good opportunity to shoot the puck. He can make a lot out of nothing. Sometimes he doesn&rsquo;t even need a scoring chance to put the puck in the net.&rdquo;</p><p>While Aberg can be quite dynamic on the ice, he&rsquo;s very easygoing and relaxed outside the rink. Among other things, his teammates are amazed by his ability to fall asleep on the bus when the team is on the road. &ldquo;I just like to take it very easy,&rdquo; Aberg said. &ldquo;Mostly I hang around with my buddies on the junior team. We usually go to the movies or spend time in front of the Xbox.&rdquo;</p><p>And when it comes to video games, he&rsquo;s more into soccer than hockey. &ldquo;I just don&rsquo;t like the NHL games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re boring because of all the strange features they keep adding. I&rsquo;d rather play FIFA.&rdquo;</p><p>Maybe that attitude will change once he adds himself to an NHL lineup.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p></div>

f0046-01

Pontus Pontificates

<h2><b>1. FILIP FORSBERG, RW</b></h2><p>Leksand (Swe.)</p><p><i>Gifted goal-scorer got off to a slow start, but is beginning to produce.</i></p><h2><b>2. S. COLLBERG, RW</b></h2><p>Vastra Frolunda (Swe.)</p><p><i>Fast and fearless, he plays through traffic and puts up lots of points.</i></p><h2><b>3. ANTON SLEPYSHEV, LW</b></h2><p>Novokuznetsk (Rus.)</p><p><i>Top pick in KHL draft can put the puck in the net; excelled at U-18s.</i></p><h2><b>4. OSCAR DANSK, G</b></h2><p>Brynas (Swe.)</p><p><i>Much like Jack Campbell, he&rsquo;s a big goalie who thrives under pressure.</i></p><h2><b>5. H. SAMUELSSON, C</b></h2><p>Modo (Swe.)</p><p><i>Father Ulf coaches him in Sweden; U.S. NTDP product with great size.</i></p><h2><b>6. N. PROKHORKIN, LW</b></h2><p>CSKA (Rus.)</p><p><i>Great offensive skills, but also plays with an edge and tenacity.</i></p><h2><b>7. VILLE POKKA, D</b></h2><p>Karpat Oulu (Fin.)</p><p><i>Creative puck carrier can QB a power play.</i></p><h2><b>8. TOMAS HERTL, LW</b></h2><p>Slavia Praha (Cze.)</p><p><i>Big kid is scoring a lot in top Czech league.</i></p><h2><b>9. T. TERAVAINEN, LW</b></h2><p>Jokerit (Fin.)</p><p><i>Leading scorer at Hlinka tournament can dazzle.</i></p><h2><b>10. EMIL LUNDBERG, LW</b></h2><p>Sodertalje (Swe.)</p><p><i>Huge winger dominated his age group.</i><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

Eurostars

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01539/9560777-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"></div><p><b>1 YEAR of The Hockey News including Future Watch, Draft Preview and the Yearbook</b></p><p><b>Daily email newsletter FREE</b></p><p><b>Full digital edition FREE</b></p><p><b>NHL<sup>&reg;</sup> team swivel key chain of your choice FREE</b></p><p><b><i>BONUS:</i></b></p><p><b><i>PLUS:</i></b></p><p><b>VISIT <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">THEHOCKEYNEWS.COM</a> TO SUBSCRIBE NOW!</b></p><p><b><a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> is now available as a FREE download on mobile devices</b></p><p><b>Download the application today at <a href="http://thn.mobi">thn.mobi</a></b></p><p>NHL, the NHL Shield and the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams. &copy; NHL 2010. All Rights Reserved.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0047-01

YOUR INSIDE EDGE

<div class="byline">By Larry Humber</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01383/9560808-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg"></div><p><b>ANSWERS AVAILABLE IN THE NEXT ISSUE AND AT</b> <a href="http://THN.com/XWORD">THN.com/<b>xword</b></a></p><h2><b>ACROSS</b></h2><p>1 David ___ is captain in St. Louis, pictured</p><p>4 Hall of Famer ___ Dionne</p><p>9 <a href="http://THN.com">THN.com</a> blogger Jamie McLennan&rsquo;s nickname</p><p>10 ___ Sinden was behind the bench for Canada in 1972</p><p>11 Ray ___ is Pittsburgh&rsquo;s GM</p><p>12 He was coach when the Devils won their first Cup</p><p>13 Area directly in front of goal</p><p>15 The net</p><p>18 A ___ goalie stays on his or her feet</p><p>21 Minnesota was once home of the ___ Stars</p><p>23 Toronto&rsquo;s ___ is the Air Canada Centre</p><p>24 Mike ___ was a 700-goal man</p><p>25 Help in the scoring of a goal</p><p>26 Stylish, like the great Jean Beliveau</p><h2><b>DOWN</b></h2><p>1 Send to the minors</p><p>2 Ryane ___ is a Shark</p><p>3 Brian ___ is between the pipes in St. Louis</p><p>5 Arron ___ can mix it up</p><p>6 Another sport played on ice</p><p>7 The Matt ___ Trophy goes to the OHL&rsquo;s top coach</p><p>8 United States Hockey League: abbr.</p><p>14 Captains</p><p>15 Chicago is in this NHL division</p><p>16 Where Bobby Orr played as a junior</p><p>17 He&rsquo;s best known for Coach&rsquo;s Corner</p><p>19 Faceoffs</p><p>20 Pierre ___ was Quebec coach</p><p>22 Sheets of ice</p><p><b>LAST</b>&nbsp;<b>WEEK&rsquo;S CROSSWORD SOLUTION ACROSS</b> 1. MILLER, 4. SABRES, 9. TRAPPER, 10. DEBUT, 11. RISTO, 12. EXECUTE, 13. BABE, 15. BUDS, 18. ENGLISH, 21. FLUKE, 23. ISLES, 24. BRANDON, 25. ANSWER, 26. MORRIS <b>DOWN</b> 1. MOTORS, 2. LEAFS, 3. EXPLODE, 5. ANDRE, 6. REBOUND, 7. SATHER, 8. ERIE, 14. ANGELES, 15. BUFFALO, 16. REGINA, 17. DENNIS, 19. ISSUE, 20. HABS, 22. UNDER<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-01

CROSSWORD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02283/9560846-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="991" height="1287"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>Call it the Stanley Stein: Flyers GM Fred Shero sips from a special mug created for the 1974 champs.</b> <span class="photo-credit">(BLAST: FRANK PRAZAK/HHOF)</span></figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-04199/9560839-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="150" height="150"></div><span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span>

f0049-02

Blast from the Past

<div class="byline">&#x2013; RYAN KENNEDY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-03218/9560877-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="676" height="689"><figcaption class="caption-body"><span class="photo-credit">(JERSEY: LEN REDKOLES/NHLI VIA GETTY IMAGES)</span></figcaption></div><p class="dropcap"><span>T</span>he Flyers have a nice little problem on their hands in that they got their look right the very first try. The flying &lsquo;P&rsquo; is a great logo, while orange and black has served the team well as a color scheme.</p><p>So what do you do when you need a second Winter Classic jersey in three years? You tweak, that&rsquo;s all. The off-color nameplate has been a huge success in Philly, so the team went back to the well again, but flipped to white on orange instead of black on white. The shoulders get a 1980s treatment and the striping overall is nice and simple.<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

f0049-03

JerseyHound

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01367/9560915-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="311" height="544"></div><p class="dropcap"><span>W</span><b>hen Graeme Roustan</b> plays pickup hockey with his buddies, he&rsquo;s part of a lineup that makes the NHL&rsquo;s salary cap look like the change you find between your couch cushions. His companies have financed the building of hundreds of indoor and outdoor rinks. He makes a business of acquiring struggling companies and making them profitable and is chairman of the world&rsquo;s largest hockey equipment company.</p><p>Any time the NHL is looking for a new owner or an existing one is seeking a dupe &ndash; uh, partner &ndash; his cell phone is bound to ring. He&rsquo;s on a first-name basis with most NHL governors and ever since he won a lottery to get access to a U.S. green card in 1988, all he has done is make money. Does this sound like a guy who has no expectation of getting an NHL team someday? Does this sound like someone who intends to build a 20,000-seat rink in suburban Toronto so it can provide a steady diet of Britney Spears concerts and Disney on Ice?</p><p>Roustan, who spearheaded the purchase of Bauer from Nike three years ago and successfully took the company public this year, will go to town council in Markham, a burgeoning suburb just north of Toronto, in January or February with a proposal to build a 20,000-seat rink and event venue. The reality is, how-ever, that he&rsquo;s been working on this project for years and if it weren&rsquo;t going to be approved, the esteemed leaders in Markham would have told him to go pound sand long ago. The plans for his rink have already been completed, the construction company is ready with the cranes and all that awaits is the ubiquitous rubber stamp. Trust us, there isn&rsquo;t a municipal politician in the world who can turn down the lure of a big-time arena, particularly when they don&rsquo;t have to dig into the public coffers (at least yet) to finance it. And if there were no chance he&rsquo;d get an NHL team, do you think this guy would be building a rink in the most fertile, underserviced hockey market in the world? Trust us on this one, too: Roustan knows if he plays ball according to Gary Bettman&rsquo;s rules, a team is going to find him someday.</p><p>The reality is the NHL will be putting a second team in the Toronto area. It is no longer a question of if it&rsquo;s going to happen, but rather when. We&rsquo;re going to venture a guess that Roustan has put a few (million) of his own shekels into this venture already and if there&rsquo;s one thing consistent about rich guys it&rsquo;s that when it comes to spending their own money, they throw it around like manhole covers. They don&rsquo;t like spending their money on projects that have no potential to make them richer.</p><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02266/9560908-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="1181" height="779"><figcaption class="caption-body"><b>PROPOSED NEW TORONTO ARENA</b></figcaption></div><p>Both Roustan and the NHL have made public proclamations that this arena is being built without any assurances of a future big-league team in it. But the land is ready, the infrastructure is being put into place and the financing has been secured for a project that is going to cost more than $300 million.</p><p>Guys like Roustan don&rsquo;t go to those lengths unless they have a pretty good idea they&rsquo;re going to get what they want. And just how long do you figure a 20,000-seat arena is going to sit in an untapped market before struggling franchises start lining up to land there?</p><p>Will there be obstacles to having a second team in Canada&rsquo;s largest city and the self-pro-claimed Center of the Hockey Universe<sup>TM</sup>? Of course. For example, how will the NHL get around its own constitution that protects each team&rsquo;s territorial rights? How much will the Maple Leafs be paid in indemnity fees for parcelling off one of the world&rsquo;s last sports monopolies?</p><p>The answers are: 1. The league has both privately and publicly stated that despite a constitution that is iron clad when it comes to protecting territorial rights, it has every legal right to place a team wherever it sees fit. 2. Hundreds of millions of dollars, likely in payments spread over many years.</p><p>Until the shovels go into the ground and the suitors begin to line up, many will view this venture as a pie-in-the-sky proposition. But it is very, very real. So is the prospect of the NHL finally placing a second team in Toronto, perhaps the only large metropolitan city in the world, where the most popular sport is preserved for only one pro team. If there&rsquo;s room for five London teams in the Barclays Premier League, certainly Toronto can and will support more than one NHL franchise.</p><p>The time is nigh. The NHL can no longer avoid the riches that are there to be mined in Toronto and once there is a building for a team to occupy, owners in other markets looking to recoup their millions in losses won&rsquo;t either.</p><p>Take this one to the bank. The NHL will.</p><p>CAN&rsquo;T GET ENOUGH CAMPBELL?</p><p>CLICK ON <b><a href="http://THN.com">THN.COM</a></b> FOR KEN&rsquo;S EXCLUSIVE BLOG<span class="end-marker"> &#9632;</span></p>

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December 19, 2011

SUITCASE STATS

THEBIGPICTURE

Of Tragedy & Triumph

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