Injuries continue to mount for NHL clubs
The hits just keep on comin'. The latest squad to get bad news is the Philadelphia Flyers who will be without center Jeff Carter at least three weeks due to a broken foot. Carter's string of 286 consecutive skates comes to an end, and without him it could seriously jeopardize Philadelphia in the standings. The Flyers are tied with the Habs for seventh in the East standings, with ninth place just four points to their south.
Once upon a time, the Edmonton Oilers were the top team in the NHL. That time was 20 years ago; now the Oilers are at the bottom of the NHL standings (23-47-2, -23.77 units) and the first team to be eliminated from this year’s Stanley Cup playoff race.
Season-ending injuries to goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and winger Ales Hemsky helped take the starch out of Edmonton’s collar. The upside? The Oilers will have the best chance of landing either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin at the 2010 NHL Draft. The circle of life continues.
That leaves 29 teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, and the Chicago Blackhawks are near the head of the pack – but not for much longer if they can’t hold it together.
Seabrook Skate
We talked last week about the potential impact of the loss of defenseman Brian Campbell, who is out another 6-7 weeks after suffering a broken clavicle and ribs courtesy of Alex Ovechkin. The Blackhawks lost two of their next three games, all on the road to Western opponents, leaving them in a tie for first place with the Phoenix Coyotes in the conference standings.
Yes, the Phoenix Coyotes (46-22-5, 9.70 units). Each team has 97 points, and yet you’ll find the Coyotes at 35-1 on the Stanley Cup futures market, much cheaper than Chicago at 5-1.
Bettors will get a chance to compare the two teams side by side when they meet Tuesday night (8:30 p.m. ET) at Chicago's United Center. Phoenix has won all three of their previous matchups this season, the last two by shootout. But the ‘Hawks expect to have one of their better defensemen back in the lineup when Brent Seabrook (24 points, plus-18 in 67 games) returns from a concussion. Chicago is a -170 home chalk on Tuesday’s betting odds with a total of 5½ goals.
Iron Man
The injury news just keeps getting worse for the Philadelphia Flyers (37-30-5, -11.24 units). They’ve lost their top two goaltenders for the rest of the year, Michael Leighton (.918 save percentage) and Ray Emery (.905 SV%). And now they’ve lost their top scorer, center Jeff Carter (33 goals in 72 games). Coach Paul Holmgren told Toronto’s The Globe and Mail that Carter would miss 3-4 weeks with a broken foot. Carter had played 286 games in a row for the Flyers.
Philadelphia is going to have a hard time making the playoffs, let alone winning the Stanley Cup at 20-1. The Flyers are just four points ahead of the ninth-place Atlanta Thrashers in the Eastern standings with 10 games remaining in the regular season. Atlanta took both ends of a home-and-home against the Flyers over the weekend, outscoring Philadelphia 8-3 and dropping Brian Boucher (.897 SV%) to 5-14-2 on the year.
Boucher will get his chance to turn things around on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, with Philly going north of the border as a +105 underdog to face a team with just two victories in its last 10 games.
Mind Your Head
Back in the West, the playoff drive is going to be difficult for the Calgary Flames (36-27-9, 18.02 units) if they don’t get center Daymond Langkow (14 goals in 72 games) back in the lineup. Langkow was struck in the back of the neck by a flying puck and had to be taken to hospital on a stretcher this past Sunday.
Initial fears of a serious injury were allayed when Langkow left hospital that night, albeit in a neck brace. An update on his status was expected on Tuesday.
The Flames are short of goal scorers as it is. They’re No. 28 in the league in scoring with 2.51 goals per game, ahead of only Edmonton (2.46) and Boston (2.35). Things got even worse after the deadline deal that sent Olli Jokinen (11 goals in 56 games) to the New York Rangers in return for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins. Kotalik and Higgins have combined for three goals in 16 games since their arrival. The 'under' is 10-5-1 in that span.
We’ll see what Calgary can muster up at home Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks; the betting line was on hold overnight, but a total of 5½ goals was on the board.
The hits just keep on comin'. The latest squad to get bad news is the Philadelphia Flyers who will be without center Jeff Carter at least three weeks due to a broken foot. Carter's string of 286 consecutive skates comes to an end, and without him it could seriously jeopardize Philadelphia in the standings. The Flyers are tied with the Habs for seventh in the East standings, with ninth place just four points to their south.
Once upon a time, the Edmonton Oilers were the top team in the NHL. That time was 20 years ago; now the Oilers are at the bottom of the NHL standings (23-47-2, -23.77 units) and the first team to be eliminated from this year’s Stanley Cup playoff race.
Season-ending injuries to goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and winger Ales Hemsky helped take the starch out of Edmonton’s collar. The upside? The Oilers will have the best chance of landing either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin at the 2010 NHL Draft. The circle of life continues.
That leaves 29 teams in the hunt for the Stanley Cup, and the Chicago Blackhawks are near the head of the pack – but not for much longer if they can’t hold it together.
Seabrook Skate
We talked last week about the potential impact of the loss of defenseman Brian Campbell, who is out another 6-7 weeks after suffering a broken clavicle and ribs courtesy of Alex Ovechkin. The Blackhawks lost two of their next three games, all on the road to Western opponents, leaving them in a tie for first place with the Phoenix Coyotes in the conference standings.
Yes, the Phoenix Coyotes (46-22-5, 9.70 units). Each team has 97 points, and yet you’ll find the Coyotes at 35-1 on the Stanley Cup futures market, much cheaper than Chicago at 5-1.
Bettors will get a chance to compare the two teams side by side when they meet Tuesday night (8:30 p.m. ET) at Chicago's United Center. Phoenix has won all three of their previous matchups this season, the last two by shootout. But the ‘Hawks expect to have one of their better defensemen back in the lineup when Brent Seabrook (24 points, plus-18 in 67 games) returns from a concussion. Chicago is a -170 home chalk on Tuesday’s betting odds with a total of 5½ goals.
Iron Man
The injury news just keeps getting worse for the Philadelphia Flyers (37-30-5, -11.24 units). They’ve lost their top two goaltenders for the rest of the year, Michael Leighton (.918 save percentage) and Ray Emery (.905 SV%). And now they’ve lost their top scorer, center Jeff Carter (33 goals in 72 games). Coach Paul Holmgren told Toronto’s The Globe and Mail that Carter would miss 3-4 weeks with a broken foot. Carter had played 286 games in a row for the Flyers.
Philadelphia is going to have a hard time making the playoffs, let alone winning the Stanley Cup at 20-1. The Flyers are just four points ahead of the ninth-place Atlanta Thrashers in the Eastern standings with 10 games remaining in the regular season. Atlanta took both ends of a home-and-home against the Flyers over the weekend, outscoring Philadelphia 8-3 and dropping Brian Boucher (.897 SV%) to 5-14-2 on the year.
Boucher will get his chance to turn things around on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, with Philly going north of the border as a +105 underdog to face a team with just two victories in its last 10 games.
Mind Your Head
Back in the West, the playoff drive is going to be difficult for the Calgary Flames (36-27-9, 18.02 units) if they don’t get center Daymond Langkow (14 goals in 72 games) back in the lineup. Langkow was struck in the back of the neck by a flying puck and had to be taken to hospital on a stretcher this past Sunday.
Initial fears of a serious injury were allayed when Langkow left hospital that night, albeit in a neck brace. An update on his status was expected on Tuesday.
The Flames are short of goal scorers as it is. They’re No. 28 in the league in scoring with 2.51 goals per game, ahead of only Edmonton (2.46) and Boston (2.35). Things got even worse after the deadline deal that sent Olli Jokinen (11 goals in 56 games) to the New York Rangers in return for Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins. Kotalik and Higgins have combined for three goals in 16 games since their arrival. The 'under' is 10-5-1 in that span.
We’ll see what Calgary can muster up at home Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks; the betting line was on hold overnight, but a total of 5½ goals was on the board.
