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NHL General

Crashing the Zamboni: Anyone up for a shootout?



John Madden

1. Shootout Spectaculars

  • New Jersey defeated Carolina 3-2: The Devils got revenge for being booted from the playoffs by defeating the Hurricanes on Tuesday night. New Jersey’s John Madden scored the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout, sending his team to a 3-2 win and helping the Devils to winning four of their last five games.
  • Montreal defeated Edmonton 3-2: Alex Kovalev scored the game-winning goals for the Canadeins in the shootout, making sure the Canadeins stay in the thick of things in a crowded Northeast Division – currently they’re in third, ix points behind division leader Buffalo. With the victory, Montreal has won three of its last four games.

2. MacInnis Back with Blues
Longtime St. Louis Blues defenseman Al MacInnis has decided to break out of retirement, but not to get back on the ice. Instead he’ll work in the front office, as the vice president of hockey operations for a Blues team that is on the decline (they missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1979). Al was a 13 time all-star with Calgary and St. Louis. He won the Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989, and racked up a Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) to go with it. In 1999 he won the James Norris Trophy for best defenseman in the league. His last season in professional hockey came in 2004, as a member of the St. Louis Blues.

3. Higgins Hurting
The Montreal Canadeins suffered a mighty blow Tuesday when they learned that their star left winger Chris Higgins would be out for a month and a half. Higgins has a partially torn ligament in his left ankle, which he suffered on Saturday in a game against the New Jersey Devils. Higgins is the team leader in goals (8) and points (13). A first round draft pick in 2002, it looks like he has finally reached his potential in professional hockey, and that could be huge for the Canadeins own the stretch.

Check It Out
NHL.com’s Shawn Roarke explains the USHL’s impact on NHL Entry Drafts, and looks at some players from several leagues who will be competing in the USA Junior Hockey Jamboree, a junior hockey all-star event taking place next week. It’s nice to see some of these developmental leagues get some pull from the media – without the USHL’s of the world, we wouldn’t have a lot of the NHL stars that we do today.

Game of the Night: Ottawa at Atlanta
Sens trying to avoid first five game losing streak since 1996

The Last Shot
In a meeting between NHL general managers that lasted several hours, it was determined that the NHL’s unbalanced schedule (see yesterday’s “Check It Out”) will most likely remain for at least one more year… that’s a real bummer, because nobody will be seeing a rematch of the Stanley Cup Finals unless it ends up coming in the Stanley Cup Finals – hard to determine the best team in hockey with only one series.

By Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

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