Bobby Ryan doesn’t hold any grudges against Sidney Crosby, the one player who prevented the Ducks’ emerging star from being drafted first overall. (Unlike all those guys who must still be jealous of Patrick Stefan and Alexandre Daigle).
Backup Curtis McElhinney is probably the one person in Calgary least happy with Iron Mike’s decision to work the Kipper into the ground between the pipes this season. (But hey, what goes up must come down….just check out those oil prices!)
Former Winnipeg Jet Nikolai Khabibulin is a big fan of coach Joel Quenville’s even-keeled demeanor. (But really, how angry can a guy get when his goalie’s off to a 13-5 start??)
The Avalanche suffered a tough loss to the Oilers a couple nights ago following a gaffe by Andrew Raycroft. Read down to the comments of this piece and you’ll see Avs fans are all in agreement; this may be the worst team in franchise history. (On the bright side, if they keep losing, they can’t suffer a playoff-choking collapse like the 2008 Broncos).
Manny Malhotra’s game is maturing. Apparently he even does crossword puzzles sometimes. (Must be a slow newsday in Columbus if we have to read about Manny being Manny).
Meanwhile, in the Motor City, Pavel Datsyuk has come out of his shell and is doing a lot more than crossword puzzels to to energize the Wings. (The fact that this guy is a reserve and not a starter in the All Star Game is shocking.)
With the shipping out of Mathieu Garon, Dwayne “The Rock” Roloson solidifies his hold on the starter’s job in Edmonton.
The Kings finally got Jack “Brushfire Fairytales” Johnson back in their lineup last night, but it wasn’t enough to beat Dallas, as the Stars won 3-2 in a shootout.
The Wild might want to change “Hockey Day in Minnesota” to “Score Goals Day” as they were shut out 3-0 by the Ducks. (Maybe Al Franken should ask for a recount to give the Wild the win?)
The Coyotes got a big 4-3 win against Calgary Saturday night, as household name Mikkel Boedker scored the game winner. (Boedker gave credit to God and Brenda Warner).
The Sharks got a huge 6-5 win against Detroit Saturday night to solidify their status as the NHL’s best team. Ryan Clowe said the game was “FUNNER” for the players than the San Jose fans. (I don’t think Malholtra will be asking him for help on the crosswords anytime soon!)
The Blues lost to the Hawks last night, but it’s great to see that the team is selling out their games these days, a big uptcik from the struggle in recent seasons.
FOR ILLEGAL CURVE, I M JOEY SWITHMICK
