1. Newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
On Monday, Patrick Roy, Herb Brooks, Harley Hotchkiss, and Dick Duff were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Patrick Roy
-NHL’s all-time winningest goaltender (holds records for most playoff and regular season wins) with Canadeins and Avalanche
-Won three Conn Smythe Trophies (playoff MVP)
-Won three Vezina Trophies (NHL’s best goalie)
Herb Brooks
-Coached Team USA to Olympic Gold in 1980
-Won three NCAA titles at Minnesota
-Coached four NHL teams
Harley Hotchkiss
-Key cog in Flames’ move to Calgary
-Co-owner of Calgary Flames franchise
Dick Duff
-Played on five NHL teams
-Won six Stanley Cups
2. Future of the NHL
The Penguins showed off their potential and talent on Monday night in Pittsburgh. A trio of first-round draft picks scored goals against the Philadelphia Flyers, snapping a five game losing streak with a 3-2 win. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal all netted goals for the Penguins, who helped themselves at keeping up to par in a busy Atlantic Division. The three kids, whose combined age is only 57 years, sent Philly to its sixth straight loss and proved that they’re the new generation of hockey. At 18, 19, and 20, no member of the tremendous trio is even old enough to drink yet (legally, at least. Guess you can’t blame them for pounding a few with the way they’ve been playing, but that’s beside the point…). Even though they’re currently sitting in third in their division, the Pens look to be setting themselves up quite nicely for the immediate future in Pittsburgh.
3. Gallant Out in Columbus
The Columbus Blue Jackets are hungry for a winner, and they attempted to move one step closer to relieving their starvation on Monday night. The firing of head coach Gerard Gallant was the first step in what could be a tedious process of turning the club’s fortunes around. Gallant was hired as coach in the summer of 2004, and had a record well below .500 in his tenure as head honcho.
In five seasons of existence, Columbus has yet to come close to the playoffs–but star left wing Rick Nash has shown some serious potential at only 22 years old. As featured in yesterday’s “Check It Out”, he needs to start putting up some numbers in order for his club to make any type of impact this year. As of now, Columbus is dead last in the league with only 33 goals scored.
Check It Out
Offwing.com’s Eric Mcerlain takes an interesting look at the hockey afterlife, including the post-hockey troubles of former NHLer Darren McCarty. McCarty couldn’t stay out of financial troubles, and was forced to file for bankruptcy… sad occurrence for someone who happened to be a very good hockey player in his time.
Game of the Night: Minnesota at Phoenix
Coyotes: 5-2 in last seven games against Wild
The Last Shot
Washington’s Olaf Kolzig stopped 44 shots against the Florida Panthers on Monday night, getting the win in a 4-1 effort. The Panthers’ 45 shots were a season high–you know things are going awry when you put up a season high for shots and still lose by three… ouch!
