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Wigge: Sizing up the new-look Sharks
Friday, 11.20.2009 / 12:00 PM / Columns
By Larry Wigge  - NHL.com Columnist

"You want to build a foundation, a model of consistency, a way of playing that makes you hard to beat in April, May and June." -- Joe Thornton

At first blush, we can't see the forest from the trees when looking at the San Jose Sharks.

* Joe Thornton's still putting up points.
* Even though Patrick Marleau is no longer captain, he's more of a leader now than before.
* Dan Boyle, the new captain, is still the straw that stirs the drink in San Jose.
* And Evgeni Nabokov continues to stops nearly everything.

But GM Doug Wilson's makeover of the Sharks roster is more than just trading key second-tier scorers Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek to Ottawa for Dany Heatley.

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Oreskovich authoring unlikely comeback tale
Wednesday, 11.18.2009 / 12:23 PM / Columns
By Larry Wigge  - NHL.com Columnist
The puck came flying high into the air. It appeared no one could find the high-flying rebound, until rookie Victor Oreskovich knocked the puck out of the air and drove to the net to score the game-tying goal for the Florida Panthers in the final minutes of a Nov. 16 game against the Los Angeles Kings.

It wasn't just a goal for Oreskovich, however. And it was more than just the first NHL goal for the 6-foot-2, 225-pound fullback on skates. The drive, the determination, the passion he showed in getting to the net, that was the key for a player who not too long ago quit hockey after being a second-round draft choice, the 55th selection, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2004 Entry Draft.

After scoring 28 goals and 32 assists in 62 games for Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League in 2006-07, Oreskovich was out of sight like that rebound. And out of mind, retiring from the game citing a case of burnout.
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Well-rounded Kopitar is season's success story
Friday, 11.13.2009 / 5:00 PM / Columns
By Larry Wigge  - NHL.com Columnist
Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray recent spoke about Anze Kopitar like a proud father.

"He's always been mature beyond his years," Murray said. "Now he's showing even more -- how accountable he is at both ends of the rink."

That natural maturation process that takes an offensive talent and makes him good offensively and defensively, which then puts him into position to score more, has taken place this season for Kopitar and the Kings.

"He's got it all now," said Murray, who put Kopitar on a line with veteran Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams this season -- and it's no coincidence Kopitar led the NHL in scoring with 14 goals and 30 points in 19 games going into this weekend, and the Kings are one of the League's best stories in this young season. In the process, one of the game's best feel-good stories has just gotten better.

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Free Shipping in November
Fans can be thankful for what Yzerman brought
Tuesday, 11.10.2009 / 11:04 AM / Columns
By Paul Kukla  - NHL.com Correspondent
Monday night, my plans were to point out all the reaction from fans regarding Steve Yzerman's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. But during the night I changed my mind.

Throughout a restless night, I kept going back to the words Steve said in his induction speech: "I just want to thank the entire organization for all you've done for me, you've done a great job. I've made it to that finish line …"

Yes Steve, you have reached the Finish Line, the one line a vast majority of hockey players never see. You've crossed that line with numerous individual and team awards. Even with the weight of an entire fanbase on your back, you finished first. First in our hearts and in our minds, and we will never forget.
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Go West young Penguins
Friday, 11.06.2009 / 5:00 PM / Columns
By Larry Wigge  - NHL.com Columnist

"You do what you have to do to win."
-- Sidney Crosby

The defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins are letting the rest of the NHL see how difficult they are going to be to unseat as champs.

After seeing Sidney Crosby slide across the goal crease and make a double pad stack save on Scott Niedermayer and then Marc-Andre Fleury flash a glove save on Saku Koivu -- both in the final minutes -- of a 4-3 victory at Anaheim on Nov. 3, the Penguins ran their road record to 7-0-0 this season.

It also gave them just their second regulation win in their past 16 games in California (ending a 1-13-1 stretch), dating to the start of the 1999-2000 season.


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Egads! Going Web-less for a day
Tuesday, 11.03.2009 / 10:23 AM / Columns
By Paul Kukla  - NHL.com Correspondent
Who’s with me in this endeavor?  In the very near future, I am going to avoid using the web to follow any hockey-related news for a 24-hour period.

Just thinking about doing that has brought up many issues I may be facing.

Let me take a step back and tell you at one time in my life, I was web free. The past five or so years I have become a web fanatic, but before that time, zilch.  I knew how to turn on a computer and use some business-related software that was required for my previous job, but I was never into searching the web for anything.

After I started a blog during the NHL Lockout, well I changed my ways and have not looked back. Now I have become dependent on the web for the vast majority of my hockey news. A few days ago, I lost internet access for about eight hours and at that time realized how much I use and really need hockey-related news via the internet.

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Thanks to Bryzgalov, Coyotes are howlin' and prowlin'
Monday, 11.02.2009 / 12:33 PM / Columns
By Larry Wigge  - NHL.com Columnist

"The story of this season has been the play of Craig Anderson and Ilya Bryzgalov in goal in Colorado and Phoenix. Not many people gave either of those teams a chance before this season, but look at them now. Goaltending has clearly been the key in both places."
-- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville

When he's on his game, Ilya Bryzgalov, at 6-foot-3, 199 pounds, covers a lot of that 4-foot by 6-foot net. He makes the job of stopping shots coming at him at 100 mph or more look easy on most nights. But as the 29-year-old Togliatta, Russia, native found out often times late last season, big isn't always better in the puck-stopping game.

Some eight months after he misjudged a flip shot from the neutral zone by David Perron into a winning goal in a 2-1 loss to the Blues, Bryzgalov returned to St. Louis and flawlessly turned aside 32 shots in a 2-0 shutout Octo. 29. It was Ilya's third shutout already this season and gave him a 7-3 record, lowered his goals-against average to 1.77 and improved his save percentage to .929.

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Old 'dogs' can learn new tricks in today's NHL
Friday, 10.30.2009 / 5:00 PM / Columns
By Larry Wigge  - NHL.com Columnist

"After 10 minutes with Jacques, you find out how much you don't know about the game. It's amazing how much he knows."
-- Zach Parise on Jacques Lemaire

One month into the 2009-10 season and we've already seen the phenomenon -- a player who has already achieved a great deal of success kind of scratching his forehead when he's talking about how things are currently going and then admitting there is a lot to learn.

All observers around the NHL would tell you that, at 25, Zach Parise is an emerging star. He already has had seasons of 14, 31, 32 and 45 goals with the New Jersey Devils. But he recently admitted he's learning more and more each day playing for new coach Jacques Lemaire.

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Duffer's Digest: Comebacks have made a comeback
Thursday, 10.29.2009 / 10:17 AM / Columns
By Brian Duff  - NHL Network
It first happened in the sixth game of this regular season.

It has happened 34 times since.

If the trend continues, it will have happened 264 times by the end of the regular season.

Leads of two goals or more are evaporating at a faster rate than most of our financial portfolios in 2008-09.

It started with the all-world Red Wings frivoling away 3-1, and 2-0 leads to go oh-for-Stockholm against the St. Louis Blues.

And, true to form in this copy-cat world of pro sports, 29 other NHL clubs have been trying to follow Detroit's lead (or blown leads) ever since.

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Deep thoughts from Kukla's Korner
Tuesday, 10.27.2009 / 10:05 AM / Columns
By Paul Kukla  - NHL.com Correspondent
* What happens if the Detroit Red Wings fail to recover from their slow start and miss the playoffs?

Fans in 29 cities would be jumping for joy, while fans in one city may be jumping off the nearest bridge.

* Wouldn't it be something if Philadelphia Flyers fans actually would be polite and respectful of the opposition for a whole game?

Not going to happen -- they have a reputation to hold up.

* Another month of fantastic goaltending by Craig Anderson of the Colorado Avalanche and he'll need a new nickname. Maybe 'Roy'?

* If the Los Angeles Kings continue to play well, maybe we would see Jack Nicholson banging on the glass.

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