Detroit Red Wings still dealing with injuries
Detroit is still skating on thin ice when it comes to having its full complement of players available. A bum shoulder has Daniel Cleary the most recent addition to the Red Wings' list of walking wounded, with the right winger expected to miss a month. With scoring down for the Motown skaters so far this season, the team is also elevating Jimmy Howard ahead of Chris Osgood on the netminder depth chart.
The NHL is holding its board of governors meetings in Pebble Beach this Tuesday and Wednesday. They’ll talk about the potential sale of the Phoenix Coyotes, and they’ll probably talk about the viability of potential Canadian markets – including Winnipeg, where the Coyotes franchise was born.
Otherwise, it’ll be mostly two days of golf and refreshing beverages. It’s a good gig if you can get it.
The rest of us are still working on our bankrolls. Here’s the latest news you can use from the NHL.
Take these broken wings
Daniel Cleary (separated shoulder) is the latest member of the Detroit Red Wings (16-11-5, -6.33 units) on the injury list, joining the likes of Johan Franzen (knee) and Niklas Kronwall (knee). Cleary is expected to miss the next month of action after absorbing a hit from Barret Jackman of the St. Louis Blues in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss.
The Wings are No. 19 in the league in scoring at 2.69 goals per game, down from 3.52 goals and first place last year. Now they’ve lost Cleary (seven goals in 30 games) from their second line. He’s been replaced by Ville Leino (three goals in 29 games), who’s in his second year in the NHL after six seasons with the top pro league in Finland, SM-liiga.
Detroit’s scoring woes are one reason the 'under' has cashed in four straight and 12 of the past 14 games. The other is the ascension of Jimmy Howard (.914 save percentage) to No. 1 status over incumbent Chris Osgood (.900 SV%). This is a no-brainer for the Wings; they had the firepower to overcome Osgood’s .887 SV% last year, and he redeemed himself in the playoffs, but Detroit no longer has the luxury of waiting for Osgood to come around.
Howard will reportedly start for the Wings Monday night against the Coyotes; early betting odds have Detroit as a -180 home favorite with a total of 5½ goals.
The Carolina hurt agains
As if things couldn’t get any worse, the last-place Carolina Hurricanes (7-19-6, -14.75 units) are down another two forwards, as Erik Cole (upper body) and Chad LaRose (lower body) have been put on injured reserve. Neither man is expected back until January. Carolina called up Patrick Dwyer and Jiri Tlusty from the AHL’s Albany River Rats; both players have scored well in the minors, although Tlusty was just picked up last week from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.
Losing Cole (six goals in 20 games) is the big blow here. LaRose is already having a lousy season with just one goal and a team-worst minus-14 after showing promise last year. The ‘Canes are dead last in the NHL with 2.31 goals per game, and unlike the Red Wings, there’s no obvious solution between the pipes, where Cam Ward (.899 SV%) apparently has his starting job back after Manny Legace (.901 SV%) covered in relief while Ward sat most of November out with a leg injury. It’s a fader’s paradise.
Gilroy was here
The New York Rangers (14-15-2, 2.46 units) are playing like the mediocre team we thought they were before the season began. They’re 7-14-2 since rattling off seven wins in their first eight games. Marian Gaborik (22 goals in 29 games) is still a house afire, but the well has otherwise dried up. Vaclav Prospal hasn’t scored in three weeks, and it’s been over a month for Ales Kotalik, who lost his spot on the top line to bruiser/fashion plate Sean Avery (four goals, 46 penalty minutes in 26 games).
A bit strange, then, to see the Rangers send defenseman and former Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy (four goals, plus-2 in 30 games) to the minors. Coach John Tortorella questioned Gilroy’s competitive level after Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks (-192). While Gilroy rides the buses with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen (zero goals in three games) will get a chance to show off some of the scoring skills he displayed in the aforementioned SM-liiga, where he played for the past six seasons.
New York’s young defense is going to be an issue all year long; this is one of just eight teams giving up at least three goals per game (at an even 3.00), even though the Rangers have one of the league’s star goalies in Henrik Lundqvist (.916 SV%). Someone call Brad Park’s agent.
Detroit is still skating on thin ice when it comes to having its full complement of players available. A bum shoulder has Daniel Cleary the most recent addition to the Red Wings' list of walking wounded, with the right winger expected to miss a month. With scoring down for the Motown skaters so far this season, the team is also elevating Jimmy Howard ahead of Chris Osgood on the netminder depth chart.
The NHL is holding its board of governors meetings in Pebble Beach this Tuesday and Wednesday. They’ll talk about the potential sale of the Phoenix Coyotes, and they’ll probably talk about the viability of potential Canadian markets – including Winnipeg, where the Coyotes franchise was born.
Otherwise, it’ll be mostly two days of golf and refreshing beverages. It’s a good gig if you can get it.
The rest of us are still working on our bankrolls. Here’s the latest news you can use from the NHL.
Take these broken wings
Daniel Cleary (separated shoulder) is the latest member of the Detroit Red Wings (16-11-5, -6.33 units) on the injury list, joining the likes of Johan Franzen (knee) and Niklas Kronwall (knee). Cleary is expected to miss the next month of action after absorbing a hit from Barret Jackman of the St. Louis Blues in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss.
The Wings are No. 19 in the league in scoring at 2.69 goals per game, down from 3.52 goals and first place last year. Now they’ve lost Cleary (seven goals in 30 games) from their second line. He’s been replaced by Ville Leino (three goals in 29 games), who’s in his second year in the NHL after six seasons with the top pro league in Finland, SM-liiga.
Detroit’s scoring woes are one reason the 'under' has cashed in four straight and 12 of the past 14 games. The other is the ascension of Jimmy Howard (.914 save percentage) to No. 1 status over incumbent Chris Osgood (.900 SV%). This is a no-brainer for the Wings; they had the firepower to overcome Osgood’s .887 SV% last year, and he redeemed himself in the playoffs, but Detroit no longer has the luxury of waiting for Osgood to come around.
Howard will reportedly start for the Wings Monday night against the Coyotes; early betting odds have Detroit as a -180 home favorite with a total of 5½ goals.
The Carolina hurt agains
As if things couldn’t get any worse, the last-place Carolina Hurricanes (7-19-6, -14.75 units) are down another two forwards, as Erik Cole (upper body) and Chad LaRose (lower body) have been put on injured reserve. Neither man is expected back until January. Carolina called up Patrick Dwyer and Jiri Tlusty from the AHL’s Albany River Rats; both players have scored well in the minors, although Tlusty was just picked up last week from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.
Losing Cole (six goals in 20 games) is the big blow here. LaRose is already having a lousy season with just one goal and a team-worst minus-14 after showing promise last year. The ‘Canes are dead last in the NHL with 2.31 goals per game, and unlike the Red Wings, there’s no obvious solution between the pipes, where Cam Ward (.899 SV%) apparently has his starting job back after Manny Legace (.901 SV%) covered in relief while Ward sat most of November out with a leg injury. It’s a fader’s paradise.
Gilroy was here
The New York Rangers (14-15-2, 2.46 units) are playing like the mediocre team we thought they were before the season began. They’re 7-14-2 since rattling off seven wins in their first eight games. Marian Gaborik (22 goals in 29 games) is still a house afire, but the well has otherwise dried up. Vaclav Prospal hasn’t scored in three weeks, and it’s been over a month for Ales Kotalik, who lost his spot on the top line to bruiser/fashion plate Sean Avery (four goals, 46 penalty minutes in 26 games).
A bit strange, then, to see the Rangers send defenseman and former Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy (four goals, plus-2 in 30 games) to the minors. Coach John Tortorella questioned Gilroy’s competitive level after Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks (-192). While Gilroy rides the buses with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen (zero goals in three games) will get a chance to show off some of the scoring skills he displayed in the aforementioned SM-liiga, where he played for the past six seasons.
New York’s young defense is going to be an issue all year long; this is one of just eight teams giving up at least three goals per game (at an even 3.00), even though the Rangers have one of the league’s star goalies in Henrik Lundqvist (.916 SV%). Someone call Brad Park’s agent.