San Jose Sharks missing Joe Thornton
Evgeni Nabokov and the Sharks have the lead in the West and are 9/2 to win the Stanley Cup. But San Jose will need Joe Thornton back on the ice and 100 percent if dreams are to come true. Thornton was knocked out of action this past weekend and saw his 379 consecutive game streak come to an end. He's day-to-day with a 'lower body' injury and the Sharks expect him back in action before the end of the regular season.
Are the Winnipeg Jets coming back? The Phoenix Business Journal says the NHL has a deal in place to move the Phoenix Coyotes to their original home in Winnipeg if a local buyer can’t be found. The league has denied this report. We shall see how things turn out, but it would be strange to see the franchise leave just when things were getting good.
The Coyotes (47-23-6, 11.14 units) have already clinched a playoff berth after going into the 2009-10 season ranked No. 30 out of 30 teams by pretty much everyone.
If the Coyotes aren’t the story of the year so far, then it must be concussions. Our latest victim has now had the misfortune of getting his bell rung twice this year.
The Next Eric Lindros
The Florida Panthers (30-33-12, -7.08 units) had their shot at the playoffs this year. But they look like they’ll come up short after scoring just 2.53 goals per game, ranking No. 26 in offense. Losing winger David Booth (31 goals in 72 games last year) for three months to a concussion was bad enough; now Booth is out for the rest of the season after getting creamed by Jaroslav Spacek in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens (-152). Florida dropped its next two games to fall eight points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with seven games to go.
The Panthers are approaching this situation with caution, although early signs suggest the second concussion wasn’t as bad as the first.
“These are injuries you don’t know the ramifications of,” Panthers coach Peter DeBoer told reporters Saturday. “Whether you’re going to be the next Eric Lindros, or whether you’re going to be able to come back and be fine.”
The 'under' is 8-3-1 for Florida in its last dozen games with a trip to Buffalo coming up Wednesday against the stingy Sabres (42-23-10, -0.98 units), led by goalie Ryan Miller and his league-leading .929 save percentage.
King for a Day
Jonathan Bernier is one of the hottest goaltending commodities in the NHL. The Quebec native will make his second start of the year for the Los Angeles Kings (42-27-6, 4.86 units) on Tuesday when they face the Nashville Predators (44-27-6, 12.68 units) at the Bridgestone Arena. Bernier’s first start: a brilliant 2-1 shootout victory over the Dallas Stars (-108) on March 12.
Bernier made a splashy NHL debut by starting the 2007-08 season for the Kings, beating the Anaheim Ducks (-123) 4-1 on Opening Day. But he struggled in his next three games and was sent back to his junior team in the Quebec league. That gave Jonathan Quick (.908 SV%) a chance to eventually take the No. 1 job. Quick was the starter in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild (+104), and Erik Ersberg (.894 SV%) has a strained back, so Bernier is between the pipes versus Nashville. The early betting odds had L.A. as a +120 road dog with a total of 5½ goals.
Hey Joe
If the San Jose Sharks (47-19-10, 20.30 units) are going to fulfill their potential this year and win the Stanley Cup, they’re going to need Joe Thornton to have a strong postseason. The 2006 Hart Trophy winner leads the Sharks with 85 points (19 goals, 66 assists) and is critical to their power play success (22.0 percent, third in the league). So you could hear the air come out of the Shark Tank on Saturday when Thornton absorbed a hit by Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler. He left the game and didn’t return.
Thornton was scratched from Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, but the Sharks managed to beat both Vancouver (+137) and Colorado (+158) to hold onto first place in the Western Conference. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Thornton is aiming to return at some point during San Jose’s upcoming four-game road trip, starting Wednesday in Dallas against the Stars. A strong finish would help build confidence for a Sharks team that’s 9-2 to put its playoff demons to rest and win the Stanley Cup.
Evgeni Nabokov and the Sharks have the lead in the West and are 9/2 to win the Stanley Cup. But San Jose will need Joe Thornton back on the ice and 100 percent if dreams are to come true. Thornton was knocked out of action this past weekend and saw his 379 consecutive game streak come to an end. He's day-to-day with a 'lower body' injury and the Sharks expect him back in action before the end of the regular season.
Are the Winnipeg Jets coming back? The Phoenix Business Journal says the NHL has a deal in place to move the Phoenix Coyotes to their original home in Winnipeg if a local buyer can’t be found. The league has denied this report. We shall see how things turn out, but it would be strange to see the franchise leave just when things were getting good.
The Coyotes (47-23-6, 11.14 units) have already clinched a playoff berth after going into the 2009-10 season ranked No. 30 out of 30 teams by pretty much everyone.
If the Coyotes aren’t the story of the year so far, then it must be concussions. Our latest victim has now had the misfortune of getting his bell rung twice this year.
The Next Eric Lindros
The Florida Panthers (30-33-12, -7.08 units) had their shot at the playoffs this year. But they look like they’ll come up short after scoring just 2.53 goals per game, ranking No. 26 in offense. Losing winger David Booth (31 goals in 72 games last year) for three months to a concussion was bad enough; now Booth is out for the rest of the season after getting creamed by Jaroslav Spacek in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens (-152). Florida dropped its next two games to fall eight points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with seven games to go.
The Panthers are approaching this situation with caution, although early signs suggest the second concussion wasn’t as bad as the first.
“These are injuries you don’t know the ramifications of,” Panthers coach Peter DeBoer told reporters Saturday. “Whether you’re going to be the next Eric Lindros, or whether you’re going to be able to come back and be fine.”
The 'under' is 8-3-1 for Florida in its last dozen games with a trip to Buffalo coming up Wednesday against the stingy Sabres (42-23-10, -0.98 units), led by goalie Ryan Miller and his league-leading .929 save percentage.
King for a Day
Jonathan Bernier is one of the hottest goaltending commodities in the NHL. The Quebec native will make his second start of the year for the Los Angeles Kings (42-27-6, 4.86 units) on Tuesday when they face the Nashville Predators (44-27-6, 12.68 units) at the Bridgestone Arena. Bernier’s first start: a brilliant 2-1 shootout victory over the Dallas Stars (-108) on March 12.
Bernier made a splashy NHL debut by starting the 2007-08 season for the Kings, beating the Anaheim Ducks (-123) 4-1 on Opening Day. But he struggled in his next three games and was sent back to his junior team in the Quebec league. That gave Jonathan Quick (.908 SV%) a chance to eventually take the No. 1 job. Quick was the starter in Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild (+104), and Erik Ersberg (.894 SV%) has a strained back, so Bernier is between the pipes versus Nashville. The early betting odds had L.A. as a +120 road dog with a total of 5½ goals.
Hey Joe
If the San Jose Sharks (47-19-10, 20.30 units) are going to fulfill their potential this year and win the Stanley Cup, they’re going to need Joe Thornton to have a strong postseason. The 2006 Hart Trophy winner leads the Sharks with 85 points (19 goals, 66 assists) and is critical to their power play success (22.0 percent, third in the league). So you could hear the air come out of the Shark Tank on Saturday when Thornton absorbed a hit by Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler. He left the game and didn’t return.
Thornton was scratched from Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, but the Sharks managed to beat both Vancouver (+137) and Colorado (+158) to hold onto first place in the Western Conference. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Thornton is aiming to return at some point during San Jose’s upcoming four-game road trip, starting Wednesday in Dallas against the Stars. A strong finish would help build confidence for a Sharks team that’s 9-2 to put its playoff demons to rest and win the Stanley Cup.